And One to Grow On
by Zelgadis55
Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. 2k3/2k12 Crossover. 3rd place 'Best Action/Adventure' Honorable Mention 'Best Mikey' in 2015 SS competition. Concrit, thoughts and comments appreciated
1. Prologue

Series: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: M for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Only in my delusions, which began around 1991, do they belong to me. In reality, TMNT and all related characters currently belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death.

Summary: "You're already hurtin' 'em, There's already been enough loss as it is." The stranger glared in obvious trepidation. Reeling from loss, hope will be found in an unexpected form. No OC's. Set: Canon 2k3 up until 'Good Genes', AU after that.

A/N:

I'm Australian, I therefore do not use American English. Please bear that in mind if you see words like colour instead of color. Also, I don't really have anyone I can ask to Beta so this is un-betaed, sorry. If anyone would like to Beta for me, please feel free to contact me.

Reviews and ConCrit are always welcomed and appreciated.

This story has a full, detailed synopsis, just needs fleshing and typing, (I have been busy in the last couple of weeks, haha) so it will be completed and this is likely to be the first in a series.

**And One to Grow On**

The worst thing you can try to do is cling to something that is gone , or to recreate it. - Johnette Napolitano

Prologue:

Raphael had always had a temper. In fact, he was known for it but that didn't mean he was _always_ angry, the reality was actually far from it. However, if one were to question him right now about it, he would be hard pressed to remember the last time he wasn't filled with an almost blinding rage, at himself, his brothers, at the world.

As he pounded across the rooftops, searching for trouble, fuelled by fury, like he did the vast majority of nights nowadays, Raph felt an almost forgotten loneliness sneak up its timid head to peak out through a tiny crack within his swelling rage and ducking down again as fast as it had appeared, as if in fear for its very existence. From his vantage point on the high rise buildings, Raphael peered desperately into the night.

_Where the hell were all the lowlifes that plagued this city when you really needed them._

He needed to feel like a turtle once more and he _knew_ that that was never going to happen again. Not since that night...

that night when...

He still got chills when he remembered the screams of despair and anguish coming from his brother that terrible night so many months ago.

He squeezed his eyes tightly closed as he tried to push that memory from his mind.

Raphael turned his head, suddenly aware as a sound caught his attention from below in a nearby alley. His face twisted into an almost feral grin, eager to spend some of his mood on someone well-deserving as he ran to the edge of the building which he stood upon and dropped his way down, catching himself on various window sills and pipes just often enough on the way to the ground below to avoid injury. He spied a small group of young men wearing gang colours, not one he really recognised, not that it even mattered to him, were surrounding a woman who looked to be in maybe her mid-twenties. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he noticed her terror but he didn't really care enough about anything any more to take it into consideration.

The turtle growled a warning as he approached the group from out of the shadows, noting with a dark pleasure the looks of fear filling the young gang members' faces as they turned to face him; the being they had only considered to be a dark fable haunting this city. He twirled his sais slowly, lazily, daring them to come at him and they did not disappoint. Raph allowed them to get close, surrounding him, swinging their makeshift weapons of pipes, bats and in a couple of cases, knives. He allowed them the first move, taking their hits just to drive home that he could, knowing they were too pathetic to actually hurt him so easily and not really caring besides.

"_Pissweak_!" he growled in a low tone, delighting in the way the punks started at the sound of his spoken voice before bursting into a flurry of movement, kicking and punching, slashing and slamming the pommel of his weapons into their soft, tender bodies.

Raphael was dimly aware of the woman screeching with terror as she ran desperately for her life while he took out his incessant anger on her various attackers. Before he was even fully aware of it, all the pathetic lowlifes were down on the ground, unconscious or panting and moaning in pain and fear. Raphael sneered at them, they had barely made a dent in his ire, almost nothing did these days.

He made his way back to the rooftop, pulling his way speedily up a nearby fire-escape. Wondering dimly at the pain in his left arm, he realised that one of the knife wielders had actually gotten lucky. Raph fingered the cut, inspecting it and was vaguely relieved that it wasn't deep and wouldn't even require stitches. He decided he may as well just ignore it until he got home around dawn and returned to running across the rooftops once more.

\- . - . -

"Raph! Come on, man," Raphael heard a familiar but tired voice reach his ears. "Call it a night bro, jus' this once!"

Raph turned to face the caller, annoyance plastered in plain view across his face. "Fuck, Casey, jus' leave me alone already!" he snarled his displeasure, "I'm sick of you comin' after me nearly every damn night!"

"Someone's gotta... You don't have to go home, jus' come to my place instead, share a couple beers, hang with me! Like you used to," the panting human in the hockey mask replied desperately as he approached the red bandanna wearing turtle, "before..."

"Dammit Case! I said jus' leave me alone! Get the hint! I gotta be out here so I don't hurt anyone I care about!" Raphael exploded, twisting to move away again and wishing that his friend would just understand already.

"You're already hurtin' 'em, every time you take on the scum of the city alone! Keep this up, Raph an' you're gonna get seriously hurt or killed!" Casey reached out to put a hand on the turtle's arm as he pleaded. "There's already been enough loss as it is."

"For fuck's sake, Case! Don't you _dare_ try an' guilt me!" Raphael snapped, whirling around to face Casey, his fury bubbling up uncontrollably as he reacted badly to his friend's touch. Without realising what he was doing, Raph found himself shoving his best friend away violently, pushing him off balance. As Casey fell painfully to the rooftop surface, Raph was aware with growing horror that he could have really hurt his friend badly and the guilt and anger at himself overwhelmed him. He stood staring in shock just long enough to ascertain that Casey was thankfully okay before stuttering a rushed apology and running.

He _couldn't_ stay there!

He _couldn't_ risk accidentally hurting his friend again.

He _needed_ to work this anger out before it completely consumed him and he hurt one of the remaining people he loved.

But he didn't know how. Nothing was right any more. Everything was completely unbalanced with _him_ gone...

Raphael ran for what felt like hours until he was exhausted and collapsed to his hands and knees on the rooftop panting. After a few minutes, he looked towards the cloudy, moonlit sky and screamed his pain, his rage, his frustration and most of all his grief until he ran out of breath. Finally spent, he hung his head, just breathing, in and out, over and over.

Sometime later, though he didn't know how much as he had long since lost track of time, Raph felt the sudden urge to lift his head, turn and stare into the distance. He really wasn't sure what it was that gave him the urge to do so but he did anyway and what he saw chilled him.

There was someone out there, on the far rooftop and he could tell it wasn't Foot. Raphael squinted into the night, he needed a clearer look but the figure was too far away. He clambered unsteadily to his feet, limbs still shaky from his relentless run and started moving slowly in the direction of the figure. His eyes widened in surprise as he froze to the spot.

He could have sworn it was someone on a skateboard...

And that it was another turtle, though, the silhouette looked wrong...

But his remaining brothers almost never left the lair any more, unless they absolutely had to.

Raphael continued to stare from his vantage point at the edge of the rooftop and suddenly started as he saw a brief flash of colour in the pale light of the half moon as it ducked out from behind the clouds.

Before he even realised it, Raphael was vaulting to the next rooftop and sprinting across the buildings faster than he had ever run before, however before he could catch up, the figure, still on its skateboard, jumped over the side of the building, disappearing from Raphael's sight as if it had never even been there in the first place.

\- . - . -

To be continued

Thoughts? Comments? Anything you liked or disliked?


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Only mine in my head. In reality, TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch - 1

Raphael stared wildly around the trash strewn alleyway. If he hadn't seen signs of skateboard tracks within the dust on the rooftop, he would have simply thought that he was losing his mind. Raph was about to start searching the possible hiding places within the dark alley when he spotted a manhole cover. It wasn't quite sitting in place properly, as if it had haphazardly been dropped into place, creating a possible trip hazard for the unwary. When the red masked turtle looked more closely, he could see signs of recent movement. There was the torn remains of some shopping receipt sticking out, caught in the lip of the huge metal disk. Raph looked closely at it and saw today's date printed clearly upon it. He realised then that it was pointless looking around the alley as he knew without a doubt whoever it was had gone below.

Heart pounding with tension and perhaps a touch of excitement, Raphael hurriedly lifted the cover, all but running down the ladder. Sure, he could have simply dropped down to the tunnel floor but Raph didn't want to risk ruining any signs of passage. Carefully, he stepped off the bottom rung and to the side. He pulled his Shell-cell from it's pocket in his belt and switched on the light. An unfamiliar feeling filled him as he saw fresh smudges in the dirt beneath the ladder.

Someone _had_ been here!

The shape of the footsteps looked odd though, like nothing he had ever seen before and Raphael couldn't tell which way they had gone. He looked to the nearby gently flowing water, realising they were probably walking through it to hide their tracks. Raphael turned off the light on his Shell-cell and stood still, listening hard in hope to hear a sign of which direction the skateboarder had gone in.

Nothing! Raphael growled softly to himself in frustration and decided to just pick a direction. After a few hundred meters, he reached a cross intersection. Raph couldn't see any sign of recent life here so he decided to check the other way instead. Finding nothing in that direction either, he decided to just go home. Leo was a better tracker than him, maybe his older brother could find something that he missed.

If he could convince his brother to actually listen to him ...

\- . - . -

Cringing inwardly, Raphael entered the still lair. His home was way too quiet these days, stiflingly so. The only lights on were a small lamp in the common area, the dojo and a small strip of light peeking through the gap in the bottom of the door to Donnie's lab.

Raph could remember the times in the past when Leonardo would wait up anxiously for the hothead to return safely home but he hadn't bothered to do so for months now. It was like he had given up on every thing.

Leonardo wasn't the only one.

Raphael felt like they had all given up, one way or another and that nothing was really worth the effort any more but what he had seen earlier gave Raph a stirring of much needed hope. He took a hesitant step towards Leo's room then paused, suddenly, he wasn't quite sure just how to approach his brother. None of them really ever talked any more. They only saw each other for training and meals and when they did, it was usually in strained silence.

Unconsciously as he hesitated, Raphael clasped his left arm with his other hand, hissing as he was reminded of his injury. Decision made, Raph spun around on his feet, heading instead for the infirmary attached to the side of Donnie's lab.

As Raph rummaged through the first-aid kit, his genius brother hesitantly entered the room, "Here," Donnie spoke softly, "let me me do that."

Raph wanted to argue, he had been fine taking care of his minor injuries for months now and this time was no different to any other but something made him stop, the protest dying unspoken in his throat. He nodded and stepped to the side making room for Donatello and angled his left arm towards him.

Donatello, as always, was both gentle and thorough as he cleaned and bandaged the wound. Donnie's gaze flitted up to Raph's for a moment then straight back to his task. "... I miss him too..." Donnie all but whispered, grief soaking his voice.

Raphael noticed how he avoided mentioning his name but said nothing. He just watched silently as his brother finished bandaging his arm. Donatello turned to leave and walk back to his lab while Raph continued to watch.

"Don..." Raphael began. Donnie paused, half turning back towards him. "Did either you or Leo go out tonight?"

Donnie gave a small, hollow laugh. "Of course not."

Raph knew that neither went out much any more, not unless it was necessary, so then...

That unfamiliar feeling of hope flared briefly within again...

But Mikey was gone...

There had been nothing left but the chains of his 'chucks and the twisted remains of his Shell-cell and a few other small pieces of 'inorganic materials', as Donnie had put it...

But Donnie had been the only one to actually see what had happened, Raph himself and Leo had been in a nearby room and only seen the remains when they followed the scream.

Besides, if that had actually been him earlier, surely he would have come home by now? So who was that that he had seen in the distance only a couple of hours previously?

As he mused, Raph continued to stare at his brother. He saw a flash of impatient annoyance pass briefly across Donnie's face. "Don, somethin' happened tonight..."

\- . - . -

Donnie stared at Raph, hope filling his eyes for the first time in a long time, "Well, it can't have been Leo nor I. Do you think it could have been... him?"

Raph shook his head adamantly. "Can't have been. You said yourself there was nothin' left. Besides, even though it was too far for me to see properly, whoever that turtle was, was wrong somehow. The shape of the silhouette didn't look anythin' like any of us. Well," Raph smirked, he felt better than he had in forever for some strange reason, "other than obviously standin' upright and having a shell, it looked nothin' like us."

Donatello sat there, taking the news in with building excitement. Maybe Raph was wrong. Maybe he had been wrong somehow on that horrible night. Donnie pushed the disturbing images away from his mind, he was so sick and tired of those being the last memories he had of his playful, light hearted brother.

Even if this was something new as it must be, then at least it was still a mystery, something to actually look forward to investigating and perhaps researching. Donnie caught and held Raph's eye, "We need to talk to Leo too."

"Yeah," Raph grumbled, his 'good' mood evaporating, "you're right."

\- .- . -

The two middle turtles strode into the dojo, full of confidence and purpose for the first time in six months. Leo irritatedly opened one eye from where he sat meditating and glared balefully at their disruption. Donnie spoke first. "Leo, Raph saw something while he was out tonight that we really think you should hear about."

"I've told you both before not to interrupt my meditation or training." Leo spoke, annoyance obvious in face and voice.

"It's important, Fearless." Raph insisted.

"Somehow, I doubt it." Leonardo closed his eye once more and took a deep breath, attempting to get back to a state where he could just forget.

"This could be a threat, Leo." Donnie insisted in a calm, collected voice while shooting an anxious glance Raph's way.

Leonardo sighed, exasperated and opened both eyes. "With the way our psycho brother there has been taking his anger out on the city's lowlifes the last several months, I doubt there is much of any threats left other than the Foot and they have been quiet for even longer. Now, I just want to be left to my meditation. Alone!" With that said, Leo closed his eyes, pointedly ignoring them as he effectively dismissed his younger brothers.

Raph and Donnie exchanged disappointed glances, though, to be truthful, they had both been expecting this. Every thing was so wrong, so unbalanced within their home since that night and their formerly close-knit family had all but drifted apart from each other, essentially curling into individual balls. The two gave up on their older brother and started to leave the dojo but the short, furry form of their father and sensei entered the room, blocking their passage.

"Wait, my sons, I could not help but overhear you think there may be a threat to our safety?" Splinter spoke in his slightly rasping tone, his bright, wise eyes looking from Donatello to Raphael and back again.

Donatello nodded while Raph spoke, "Yeah Sensei, I saw somethin' while out bashin'... uh.. while out tonight that I think we need to check up on."

Splinter allowed an amused glint to appear in his eyes at Raphael's slip of the tongue before addressing his oldest son. "Leonardo, it would be prudent for you to at least listen to the concerns of your brothers. After all, we cannot risk losing anyone else to tragedy."

Leonardo sighed inwardly but managed to appear chagrined as he acknowledged his master. "Yes Sensei."

\- . - . -

"I knew it! Raph's gone delusional from letting his temper out of control!" Leo stated snidely as he got angrily to his feet. He needed to get away from the others. This was simply insane! Another turtle? Right! Even if there really was another, who the shell cared, it wasn't going to bring their brother back. Seriously, that battle lust of Raphael's was just going to his head!

Raphael bristled at the insult, "You weren't there, Fearless so what the shell would you know? You've barely left the lair in months! You barely even acknowledge the rest of us!" Raph's voice got louder and angrier till he was all but yelling at his oldest brother.

Leonardo snorted, "Like you are one to talk! Soon as the sun is down, you're gone! The only time you _ever_ even interact with us is during training! You never even have a meal with us any more and you have the nerve to have a go at _me_?"

Unnoticed by the arguing pair, Donatello was distressed and muttering, "No wonder I never want to leave my lab."

Raph opened his mouth to retort but before he could get another word out, he and Leo were silenced by someone else's voice.

"My sons! Enough!" Splinter thundered in order to be heard above the escalating voices. When he finally got their attention, he continued softly, his voice full of pain. "I know the last six months have been hard, on all of us. We may have lost one dear to our hearts but do not forget, we still have each other! You three are still brothers and we are still a family! We need to stop pushing each other aside and pull together as one. I will no longer allow you, my sons, to continue in this manner. Starting now!" Splinter took a breath and continued, "It is not too late so you will all go to where Raphael saw this mystery turtle and you will look around for whomever it may be. Then tomorrow night, you will all start patrolling regularly again. Together!" Splinter paused for a moment, looking from one turtle to another, holding each gaze and ending on Leonardo. "Am I understood?"

"Yes, Master Splinter!" The trio chorused obediently, feet shifting anxiously.

\- . - . -

Despite Donatello packing several items of scanning and tracking equipment and Leonardo's eye for detail, when Raphael led his two brothers back to the place in the sewers where he was sure the unknown turtle had entered , the three brothers found a glorious nothing. Raph had pointed out the wheel tracks on the rooftop before taking them below and that had been the only reason Leonardo hadn't immediately dismissed what Raph had seen yet again. Donnie was certainly interested enough to suggest when they had to go out the next night for patrol that they should come back to the immediate area and stake it out for a few hours.

The following night, Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo went for their first team patrol since they had lost their younger brother. Feelings were mixed for all three. No one was completely happy being forced to do this again and in particular, together but all three brothers recognised that things had to change, _needed_ to change between them. They had been pushing each other away for far too long now and it was slowly but surely, destroying them.

As the turtles raced along the rooftops, they were silent, technically the way ninja were meant to be but it felt awkward, unnatural even. They were painfully aware of just what was missing but the brothers were unable to do a damn thing to fix it and it hurt.

There was no going back...

There was no fantasy time travel...

They could only try their best to go forward.

During their first night back on patrol, they quickly and efficiently stopped a couple of muggings and pounded a small group of Dragons. Raphael still felt that familiar anger that was his constant companion trying to surge up and take over but to his intense surprise, it wasn't anywhere near as close to being as overwhelming as usual.

That night, there was no sign of their mystery turtle and it was only the reminder of the skateboard tracks in the area they staked out that convinced Raph that he was not simply imagining it. A little after three am, the brothers called it a night and went home.

\- . - . -

As the sun began its descent into the western horizon, Raphael left the lair alone, making his way to a specific destination topside. It was too early for them to emerge into the human world so he travelled most of the way underground. Before leaving home, he had made sure to tell Donnie where he was going so he and Leo could meet up with him a couple of hours later. The truth was, he still didn't really feel great spending time with Fearless or talking to him so it was just easier to let his more peaceful brother pass the message on.

Raphael reached the sewer exit nearest his destination and sighed. He felt truly terrible for his actions towards Casey two nights previous and he knew it was impossible to take them back but he really hoped that Case would at last hear him out _before_ he threw him out on his shell. Cautiously, Raph climbed out of the manhole, listening carefully and watching in every direction for any sign of spying eyes. There was still a faint reddish glow on the western horizon, enough of one at least for him to make it out against the backdrop of the buildings surrounding him. Where his exit was though, was already bathed in deep shadows.

He made his way up to Casey's window, knocked to give warning that it was him coming in and then jimmied it open. He would have liked to wait for permission to enter but it was just too risky hanging outside in wait, especially since it was still relatively early. Both Casey and April knew this and willingly accepted it whenever he and his brothers visited either of their human friends. As Raph closed the window again and pulled the blind shut, he heard footsteps approaching him from behind and turned around, unsure what exactly to say to his friend.

Raph swallowed. Casey stood there, staring, amazingly impassively at Raph. Raphael was always so direct, never one to mince his words, though expressing feelings and apologies came exceptionally hard to him. He found it harder than he thought he would to meet the expressionless eyes of his unusually silent friend but Raph forced himself. He had to do this!

He tentatively reached up with one hand behind his own head as if to scratch an itch. "Case..." Raph began hesitantly, "I'm really sorry about pushin' you the other night." Casey continued staring in an uncomfortable silence that Raphael found unnerving. He looked away to the side just to avoid that look and suppressed a shudder. "All this time, all these months, you've done nothin' but try ta look out for me an' be there for me an' all I've done is shove it in your face." Raph didn't add the 'literally' that he was thinking.

The human still just stood there without uttering a single god-damn word, just watched him and Raph forced his eyes back to meet the unemotional gaze of what he hoped with every fibre of his being was not now a former friend. Raphael shifted uncomfortably, god this was hard! "I came by tonight, Case, 'cause I wanted ta make sure you were okay and that I didn't... hurt you too badly an'..." he swallowed once more, "ta tell you how sorry I am."

Still no response and Raph felt a horrible dread come over him. First he and his brothers had lost the light of their small family, Michelangelo; that had been tragic and quite possibly, unavoidable given the circumstances. Now it seemed that Raph had managed to, quite literally, push away one of the few precious friends that he and his family had. "If you don't want anythin' more ta do with me Case, I understand, just say the word but please... don't stop being friends with the rest of my family."

After a moment, Casey just turned and walked away while Raph stood there, staring in shock. He had just poured his heart out! Something he _never_ did, or at least as close to pouring his heart out as a tough guy turtle like him was ever going to come. The _least_ Casey could have done was to tell him to piss off or something but he just turned and walked away! Without a fucking word! Raph worked his jaw, unsure what to do or say, not sure there was anything else that could be done or said and then realised, Casey had essentially made his choice, there was nothing else he could do but leave. Raph decided all he could do now was go back out the window and wait on the rooftop for Donnie and Leo to come meet up with him but as he was about to head back out and go up, he heard Casey's footsteps returning. Raphael looked back towards the doorway Casey had gone through and waited for him to approach.

The former hockey player's face was still unreadable and Raph dimly noticed he held something in his hands. All of a sudden, Casey moved and the object was flying hard and fast, directly at Raph's face!

\- . - . -


	3. Chapter 2

Series: TMNT

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: M for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Only mine in my head. In reality, TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: "You're already hurtin' 'em, There's already been enough loss as it is." The stranger glared in obvious trepidation. Reeling from loss, hope will be found in an unexpected form. No OC's. Set: Canon 2k3 up until 'Good Genes', AU after that.

**And One to Grow On**

Ch - 2

Casey had essentially made his choice, there was nothing else Raphael could do but leave. Raph decided all he could do now was go back out the window and wait on the rooftop for Donatello and Leonardo to come meet him but just as he was about to go out the window and head up, he heard Casey's footsteps returning. Raphael looked back towards the doorway Casey had gone through previously and waited for him to approach.

The former hockey player's face was still unreadable and Raph dimly noticed he held something in his hands. All of a sudden, Casey moved and the object was flying hard and fast, directly at Raph's face!

In Raph's shock, he almost allowed the thrown object to slam into him but at the last moment, his nineteen year developed ninja reflexes automatically kicked in and he caught the cold object.

'Wait a moment, cold object?' Raph tore his shocked gaze away from Casey to look down at the caught item; a cold can of beer. Raph stared, dumbfounded until an amused snort of laughter caught the turtle's attention and he looked up again, seeing Casey doubled over with laughter and barely holding himself up against the nearby door frame.

"Good thing ya looked... away... when ya did... ya bonehead!" Casey struggled to get out between his fits of laughter. "Seriously dude... I couldn't hold... that straight face... any longer!" He slid down the door frame, unable to remain on his feet he was laughing that hard while Raphael stood there twitching as he watched.

Raphael felt completely indignant. Casey had just made light of his sincere apology!

He didn't make those things for just _any_one!

Apologies meant putting aside your pride and Casey had just stood there having fun at Raphael's expense!

He... he...

Raph's mouth twitched up at the edge against his will.

Casey had acted just like Casey.

Raph smiled, of course his friend forgave him. He knew exactly how it was to have to reign in a temper. It was a small part of why they always got along so well.

"'sides, bro, my gramma would've knocked me down harder 'an you!"

Raph couldn't help but start to chuckle, laughing for the first time he could really remember and walked over to help Casey up. He extended his hand down to his friend and Casey managed to stop laughing long enough to grab it but instead of allowing Raph to pull him to his feet, he suddenly yanked the turtle down to the ground as well, guffawing in amusement at Raph's expense once more.

As Raphael crashed down, partially on top of his best friend, it was that moment that Raph knew for sure that he and Casey were good.

\- . - . -

The next couple of nights patrolling were pretty much as uneventful as the previous night had been. Raph, Donnie and Leo foiled a few muggings and a couple of break-ins. Casey joined them for a few hours once before leaving, uncomfortable with the still somewhat strained atmosphere between the three turtles, though Raph promised Casey that he would join him alone for a night within a few days. Leo wasn't pleased to hear that but Donnie sure was. He felt, after so long of staying home, that going out patrolling every single night was just too much and he knew that he would relish a night off to relax with a project or two.

It was nearly eleven pm and the night so far had just been too quiet. The three brothers were considering just heading instead, to their stakeout spot when they heard a loud voice laughing with abandon.

Donatello gave a tight smile, "It sounds as though someone is at least enjoying themselves." he commented, looking sideways at his brothers. "They aren't far away either."

"It has nothing to do with us." Leo dismissed. "Come on, we need to get a move on."

Raph rolled his eyes as Leo began to lead the way away from the laughter when Leo suddenly paused, cocking his head as a familiar sound reached his ear slits. He turned, watching and listening in the direction the sounds were coming from. The faint tinkle of metal and thwack of wood striking flesh; of piping smashing into brick and chains slamming into hard concrete and the hollow, metallic thud and rattle of them hitting a mostly empty dumpster; yells of pain, annoyance and anger and of mocking; the familiar sounds of battle, though not like any they'd heard for quite some time.

Raphael immediately began running, jumping over the edge of the roof and dropping down the side of the building, small distances at a time. Donatello and Leonardo were right behind him. Donnie shook his head at the blind insanity his younger brother displayed. As far as he could tell, Raph hadn't even paused to check for any fire-escapes, ladders or even any protrusions he could use to arrest his fall.

Leo muttered as he ran, "At least he jumped around the side from the battle."

When the two finally reached the ground, they found Raph waiting, tapping his two-toed foot impatiently. "What took ya both so long?" However, he didn't wait for a response. The sounds of battle had just stopped

Raphael ran around the nearby corner, Leonardo and Donatello at his heels. Raph stopped short so suddenly that his brothers weren't able to stop in time. Donnie thumped hard into the back of Raph's shell but Leo being Leo, somehow managed to sidestep, gracefully enough to avoid the same fate, just. He too quickly stopped short at the sight in front of them.

Splayed out ahead of the brothers were three thugs; low ranking Purple Dragons based on their tattoos. Nearby each unconscious body was a fallen weapon; a two meter long chain in a heap; a wooden baseball bat, splintered nearly in two and a length of metal piping.

"Well, someone sure went to town on these goons." Leo observed, stating the obvious as he looked from one body to another.

"They could've left some for us, geez!" Raph kicked the ground in disgust. "There's barely been anyone around causin' trouble for me to crack open for a week now!"

"Well, they left one of the Dragons alone." Leo commented wryly, pointing down the street at a distantly fleeing figure.

Raphael glanced up grunting, "Too far gone now to take 'em." He turned to look back through the darkened area, noting the nearby street light that was recently smashed.

Donatello looked towards Raph for a moment before turning back to take in all the details of the scene. "You mean it's been quieter than usual for the last few days?"

"Yeah, 'bout eight days now. Been makin' it so hard to work off my anger some before returnin' home. Guess I know why now."

Donatello spoke softly, as if afraid to spark an argument. "I had wondered why you started coming home so much later than usual."

Raph smirked, moving into the alley to look for a fire-escape. "Didn't really think anyone noticed." He shrugged. "You certainly had your head down, snorin' on the keyboard every night, uh... mornin'."

Donnie grinned sheepishly, "I may have sequestered myself into my lab more than I used to but I was still concerned enough to set the alarm systems to send time-stamps of any comings and goings to my computer." He paused before adding more quietly, "and you can't think that I didn't have the tracker keeping me apprised of your whereabouts in case of an emergency. Don't worry! I didn't tell anyone where you were or anything, I just used the information to assure Master Splinter that as long as your signal didn't halt in one place for too long, that you were fine!"

"It would have been nice if..." Leo suddenly cut off his own reproachful statement as a sound of rolling wheels from the rooftop caught his attention. "Someone's up there! Come on turtles, let's go!"

The three ninja ran up the fire-escape, as fast and as quietly as they possibly could, jumping up levels wherever and whenever they were able. It didn't take them long to reach the top and they looked around wildly, looking for the source of the noise, whether it was a spy, the mystery assailant of the Purple Dragons or even just some civilian enjoying the late night air on the roof of the building they lived in. Raphael was the first to spot the figure now two buildings over and distancing. He smirked with delight.

"There!" he pointed out, watching as the figure grinded the edge of the roof it was on before jumping high and flipping its skateboard into the air catching it as they neared the edge of roof. They didn't stop, just ran forward several steps and leapt to the next roof, throwing their board in front of their feet and jumping back on without missing a step, riding once more.

Donatello and Leonardo watched, mouths agape in pure surprise. They had never seen anyone riding a skateboard like this. Leonardo in particular hadn't truly believed in Raph's tale until that moment but now he, like Donnie, didn't only believe but was truly floored by the sheer ability the rider displayed as he performed. They watched as the mystery rider, the unknown turtle, as they saw from the silhouette, executed a spectacular flip, holding the board in hand and landing skillfully back on top.

"I told you what I saw was true." Raph exclaimed, not bothering to hide the smugness in his voice. "Come on, before we lose 'em."

Once again, Raphael didn't bother waiting for his two older brothers, he just started the chase however Leonardo and Donatello were quickly able to shake off their surprise and follow. The chase was on!

Raph, Donnie and Leo raced pell-mell after the the retreating figure but to their utter disgust, they realised whoever it was, being on wheels most of the time except for occasional jumps from one building to the next, was just too damn fast. The brothers were losing ground steadily. Leo however, quickly realised the unknown rider was heading straight towards the building that was beside the manhole cover Raph had lead them to the other night. He told Raph to continue following from the rooftops and he and Donnie would come from below ground.

As Raphael descended the ladder into the sewers, Leo and Donnie approached him from within the tunnel, the latter ever so slightly breathless.

"We found... no sign of them." Donnie panted upon sighting his younger brother.

Raph smirked at Donatello's expense, "You really gotta leave that lab more often, bro," he said, turning to face the opposite direction and ignoring Donnie's glare.

"Enough bickering," Leo stated, all business now, "We have a mystery mutant to find." Briskly, he stalked by Raph to continue down the tunnel, simply expecting his two younger brothers to follow.

As they walked, all three turtles kept a sharp eye out for any sign of recent passage. Donnie had on a pair of specialised goggles, watching the ground for any latent heat readings and holding a tracker in front, searching for any unusual readings. Both Raph and Leo continued to watch and listen intently for any sound that might give away the presence of another being. To their dismay, they soon reached a split in the tunnel and there was still no obvious signs of recent life.

Leo frowned, "We'll have to split up but be very careful. We don't know who it is we are trying to track. They may be friendly but for all we know, they could be one of Bishop's experiments, out to take us down."

Raph snorted derisively, "Right! It could also be the turtle tooth-fairy for all we know!"

"I'm just saying, Raphael, that we _need_ to be on our toes. We don't know who or what we are dealing with!" Leo retorted exasperated.

Donnie looked from Leo to Raph and back again in dismay. "I do hope you two aren't going to start a fight now, of all times." At the protest he could see forming on the mouths of his brothers, he continued, not allowing them to get in a word edgewise. "I doubt very much this has anything to do with Bishop but," Donatello held up a hand to stop Raph's triumphant comment, "Leo's right, we _need_ to be careful." He reached into his duffel and pulled out three headsets, passing one each to Raph and Leo. "I suggest we keep an open channel at all times."

Accepting his headset, Leo nodded, "I agree. Donnie and I will take this fork, Raph, you take that one. If you find _any_thing, let us know immediately. Do not try to take it on by yourself."

Raph rolled his eyes for the second time that night as he adjusted his own headset, "You're bein' ridiculous, Fearless, but fine, if I find anything, I'll call for backup like a good little turtle." With that, Raph stalked down his own tunnel, eyes and ears pealed for anything.

Leo sighed as he and Donnie started down their own tunnel. Raph was still impossible, like always. Though he had to admit, at least for the last few days, he seemed to be trying.

Several uneventful minutes passed, with nothing to show for their efforts in either tunnel when Leonardo suddenly jolted to a stop. He crouched down, close by the edge of the water they were walking beside and reached down a finger.

"Leo?" Donnie inquired, "Did you find something?"

Leo smiled slowly in satisfaction; that faint mark he noticed was dampness. Someone or something had passed through here, walking carefully through the water. It was obvious they were trying not to splash and leave tracks but they didn't do as good a job of hiding their trail as he and his brothers would have. It was almost as though whoever they were trailing had turned suddenly, possibly distracted by something from behind which in turn caused a slight ripple in the water.

"Raph, come join us." Leo spoke softly into his microphone, "We've picked up the trail."

"'bout time," Raph grumbled, "I'm on my way."

Leo and Donnie continued slowly forward, ever alert for any other signs of movement as they waited for their younger brother to catch up to them. It didn't take long as only a few short minutes later, he arrived, running close by the wall so as not to disturb any other signs.

Leo, Donnie and Raph continued walking, spread out across both sides of the waterway and less than five minutes later, they came across the tunnel's end, the water disappearing into the wall. The brothers looked around and at each other.

"Whoever that turtle was cannot have gotten through that small gap!" Donatello exclaimed in dismay. "How the shell could we have missed them?"

Raph and Leo exchanged glances as Raph poked at the spot the water was disappearing into with his sai.

"We must have passed them." Leo commented faintly. "It's the only explanation."

"But how? There was nowhere they could have been hidden!"

Leo surreptitiously pointed up.

Raph stood straight, turning his head to look at his older brothers. "I'll go back to the intersection and stand ground."

"Okay," Leo agreed, "but be..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know bro." Raph waved a hand dismissively as he and the other two turned to face the direction they came from.

Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo froze, as the strange turtle dropped down from the pipes in the ceiling of the tunnel, raising his weapons in each hand, only meters away from where they stood.

The stranger glared in obvious trepidation with a healthy dose of curiosity mixed in, "Who are you dudes an' why were you chasing me?"

\- . - . -

To be continued

Thoughts? Comments? Anything you liked or disliked?


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Only mine in my head. In reality, TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary:Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch - 3

Raphael, Donatello and Leonardo froze, as the strange turtle dropped down from the pipes in the ceiling of the tunnel, raising his weapons in each hand and only meters away from where they stood.

The stranger's bright blue eyes glared in obvious trepidation with a healthy dose of curiosity mixed in, "Who are you dudes an' why are you chasing me?"

Donatello could hear the obvious unease in the stranger's tone, and see the fear in his stance. Seeing this light green, freckled turtle struck a nerve; it wasn't his appearance, that was clearly not right, instead it was the orange mask and the spinning nunchukus that caused the feeling, however Donnie did his best not show any reaction. Raphael, on the other hand, slightly in front and to the side of the purple masked turtle, was starting to shake with unconcealed rage. Donnie noticed Leo risk a glance at their hotheaded brother before quickly returning a hard gaze to the other turtle.

"_What kind of fuckin' sick joke is this?_" Raphael suddenly exploded, no longer able to hold his reaction back, Donnie's only surprise was that he had held out this long. "Who the _shell_ are you?" Raph demanded, eyes blazing with righteous fury as he stepped forward menacingly, the small amount of available light in the mostly dark tunnel glinting dangerously off his sais.

Donatello saw the recipient of of Raph's rage take a nervous half step back, fear flashing briefly across his face but he shifted position so his weapons were held ready to defend against the irate turtle approaching him.

"_Our brother is dead and you have the __**gall**__ to stand here in front of us wearin' his colour and usin' his weapons?_" Raph furiously continued his verbal tirade and Donnie knew there would be no easy stopping him now. "_Who the __**shell**__ put you up to this? Huh?_"

Donnie's eyes flicked back to the strange turtle in orange, noting his expression starting to become panicked, though to his credit, he somehow seemed to swallow back his fear and strengthen his stance once more.

"_Are you someone's sick idea of mutatin' another turtle and dressin' it like our brother?_" Raph paused briefly for a breath and then roared, "_**Answer me!**_" However, Raphael didn't give the stranger a chance to respond. "How _dare_ you do this to us! You're _dead_!" he snarled then burst into action, jumping the remaining distance at the smaller turtle, sais flashing as he slashed and stabbed dangerously with them, trying to catch the whirling nunchukus mid swing.

Donatello watched, anxious but intrigued to see how this would play out and doing his best to push back his own stinging emotional pain as the orange masked stranger neatly dodged his younger brother's vicious attack. This unknown turtle was definitely fast on his feet and agile, Donnie observed, though, they had already known just how nimble he was from the way they had seen him ride his skateboard across the rooftops.

Raphael was relentless as he kept attacking, putting all his power into his onslaught, not letting up for even a second as he drove the scared turtle back. Finally Raph was able to snag a nunchuku within the prongs of one of his sai and rip it brutally from his opponent's grasp, eliciting a cry of dismay from him. Raphael immediately sneered at him but the younger turtle gulped, closed his eyes and flipped twice back, bounced off the wall and landed again outside of Raph's immediate reach, his eyes suddenly open once more and it was all done in little more than a heartbeat.

Definitely fast, Donnie confirmed to himself.

"I didn't do anything to you dudes! You're the ones who chased _me_." The stranger protested as he hectically continued to dodge Raphael's constant barrage of attacks. "All the way from that building where I saved that woman! Why are you doing this?" he almost whimpered.

Raph snarled angrily, whipping his head around as he attempted to keep track of the obnoxiously nimble turtle. By the time Raphael managed to get a bead on him though, he had snapped a concealed blade out of the top of his remaining 'chuck and had somehow extended the length of the chain. Raph hesitated momentarily in astonishment as the other suddenly swung the weighted end of the now kusarigama, letting it fly straight at the red masked turtle's feet. Taken completely by surprise, Raphael found his feet whipped out from under him and he found himself slamming down hard onto his shell. Temporarily dazed, all Raphael could do was lay there, trying to regain his breath as the other turtle semi crouched in front of him, eyes wide in fright and panting slightly.

"Are... are you dudes... friends of Slash?" he asked, a small tremor in his voice, eyes flickering briefly in Donnie and Leo's direction.

There was no reply from anyone but the orange masked turtle paid for his brief distraction as Leo and Donnie suddenly shook off their own shock and took the initiative, coming to the defence of their fallen younger brother. Donatello made his way straight to Raphael to free him from the chain pinning his legs as Leonardo brandished both katana at their freckled adversary who no longer had a usable weapon at hand.

At the last moment, the younger turtle seemed to realise the fight wasn't yet over and began to dodge and weave, jump and flip around, trying any way he could to get by the blue masked turtle even though it was obvious he wouldn't be getting past so easily.

Leonardo could tell he was trying his hardest to get to the weapon Raphael had ripped away earlier. He gave a knowing half smile and within moments, almost faster than the eye could see, Leo pinned the stranger to the wall, both katana crossed against his throat. The orange masked stranger froze, and squeezed his eyes tightly closed, whimpering slightly.

By the time Leo subdued their adversary, Donnie managed to get his younger, fuming brother freed from the kusarigama chains, Raph shaking with rage as he snatched his fallen sai from where they dropped when he had been so suddenly felled. He never once took his eyes off the mystery turtle who was obviously mocking their lost youngest brother. He snarled, "What are you waitin' for Fearless, kill 'im already!" When Leo didn't respond, Raph added furiously, "if you won't, I will!"

"Stand down, Raph!" Leonardo commanded, voice icy calm as he kept his eyes front. He coldly regarded the pinned turtle who still stood stock still, eyes tightly closed in terror. To get his attention, Leo adjusted the blades, moving them slightly but noticeably closer. The response was to somehow squeeze his eyes even more tightly closed and whimper in fear again. "Who the shell are you?" Leo asked coldly in a quiet voice. There was no response so Leo increased the pressure again. "Do not make me ask again, _who are you_?"

"Mi... Michelangelo."

"Liar!" Raph spat, darting forward two steps, brandishing his sais ready to attack.

Michelangelo opened his eyes and found himself looking directly into Leo's. He swallowed and flicked his gaze briefly in Raph's direction before hurriedly meeting Leo's again. "I'm... I'm not lying! My name's Michelangelo!"

Leo felt his insides twist horribly.

Raph had been right all along.

This was obviously some sick joke or plot from one of their many enemies, Bishop or maybe Stockman or the Foot. His gaze hardened further as he kept it locked on 'Michelangelo'.

Mikey didn't dare move. He could tell, this turtle was even better than his brother and much scarier. In a small voice he asked, "So you... who are you? _Are_ you friends of Slash? Only... you kinda remind me of my bros but... you look wrong and your voices are... different. You're too big and your feet are weird!"

Donnie pushed the sickening hurt inside aside to indulge in his curiosity and he glanced down at his own feet and then at the pinned turtle's, noting in surprise the difference; he and his brothers had feet similar in shape to a human except only with two, evenly sized toes but the turtle held captive by Leo had more rounded feet and three toes. For a moment Donnie wondered about how the difference the shape of their feet and how the amount of toes would affect their speed, balance and agility, not to mention how the other turtle would go about finding shoes that could fit if and when he needed to disguise himself, before pushing aside his scientific curiosity for more immediately important matters. In a gentle, calm voice, Donatello asked. "What are the names of your brothers?"

"Leonardo, Raphael and Donatello." Mikey's terrified eyes lighted briefly on Donnie as he answered before hurriedly returning to the gaze of the more obvious threat to his life.

Raph snarled furiously, "What the fuck are you tryin' to pull? Just kill 'im already, Leo, or let me do it, I don't care which!" He breathed in deeply, raggedly, "Actually, I do care, let me do it!" He raised his sais again, wanting more than anything to run this imposter through and be done with it. He suddenly wished he had never seen this... this fraud the other night on the rooftops. Raphael had been drowning in anger before for months but now, seeing the orange attired turtle so close in front of him just washed all the previously buried away pain back to the surface. His overwhelming anger had been far easier for him to cope with.

Donatello didn't know how it was even possible for those blue eyes to portray any more fear than they already did but somehow, they managed. For some unknown reason, he felt grateful that Leo reacted to Raph's rashness. Quick as anything, Leo whipped one katana away from Michelangelo's throat and unerringly swung it to point only millimetres away from Raphael's face, stopping the furious turtle in his tracks.

"I said _stand down_, Raphael! I will not tell you again!" Leo did not, for even a moment, remove his cold, hard gaze from Michelangelo's eyes.

Donatello stepped in close enough to reach out and gently touch Michelangelo's shoulder. He tilted his head slightly as he regarded the young turtle and quietly said, "Those are our names, Michelangelo." Donnie tried his best to hide his cringe as he spoke the other turtle's name.

Mikey gingerly turned his head to face Donnie, fearful of Leo's sword biting into his throat. His eyes widened in disbelief. "You... you look nothing like my bros though. Unless you count that you're turtles, weird looking triplet turtles."

Donnie chuckled softly, "Well, turnabouts fair play. You look and sound nothing like our brother either." He thought for a little before straightening up and turning, smiling slightly at Leonardo. "I think you can remove your katana from his throat now, Leo."

"Really, Don." Leo replied coolly, not moving.

"You can't be serious!" Raph snarled. "This imposter's already tried to kill us once and you want Leo to back off and let 'im go?"

Mikey would have let his jaw drop from the shock of Raph's accusation if it weren't for the uncomfortably close katana. "I did not!" he protested. "You're the ones who chased me! I was only defending myself!" Mikey tried to glare briefly in Raph's direction before muttering to no one in particular, "an' I thought Raph was psycho..."

"What was that?" Raph threatened angrily, glaring daggers in his direction; he hadn't quite heard the fake's comment but he had sure as shell made out his own name.

"Nothing..."

Donatello sighed, this really wasn't helping at all. He looked sincerely to his older brother. "He's already lost his weapons, Leo. You don't need to sheath yours but I really see no reason to keep it against his throat." Donnie not only felt Michelangelo was no threat but he was beginning to think that... He half turned to look back at Michelangelo, contemplating the three toed mutant turtle curiously.

There was silence for several moments before Leonardo finally replied. "I agree." Leo made sure he had Michelangelo's full attention, "I'll back off a little but if you try _any_thing, you'll wish I hadn't stopped Raph from killing you."

Mikey gulped and nodded carefully, he really didn't like this place and he wanted his family so badly; he didn't like feeling so alone and vulnerable. He watched Leo take a step back, still holding the katana pointed unwaveringly at him. At least it was no longer pressed against his throat though...

Raph exploded, "Seriously! Are you two insane? You can't trust... that!" he stepped forward, once more raising his sais menacingly but stopped as Donnie stepped quickly in front of Michelangelo. "Get outta my way, Don." he growled. "You dunno what that fake could do to you with your back turned to 'im!"

Michelangelo cringed as close to the wall as he could while Leo continued to watch him intently. He was really beginning to see Donnie's point but as leader, he just couldn't risk trusting this Michelangelo so easily, not after everything that had happened to him and his brothers over the last few years; not after some of the enemies they had made and some of the things those enemies were clearly capable of doing. He quickly glanced at Donnie and Raph, taking in their positions and body language before returning his full attention to the turtle against the wall.

"No, I won't and he isn't going to do anything. Can't you see he's terrified? I really don't believe he's a threat to us."

"He's worse than a threat, Donnie! He's..." Raphael paused, his glare fading slightly as unadulterated hurt filled his face ever so briefly before he quickly covered it up again, "He's a mockery to the memory of our brother... He's... he's... Ah shell," Raph threw his hands into the air and stomped away a few meters. "Jus' don't complain to me when he finally shows his true colours."

Donnie gave a brief smile before turning back to Michelangelo, "It's okay, Raphie won't hurt you."

Mikey opened his eyes again, staring unblinkingly at the katana practically still in his face. He then flicked his gaze to Leo and Raph before settling on Donnie.

Donatello gave a gently encouraging smile as he stepped closer to only a short distance from Michelangelo. He ignored the looks on the faces of both his older and younger brothers that clearly stated he was way too close and asked. "Tell me, Michelangelo, when was the last time you saw your brothers?"

Mikey swallowed, the brightness of his eyes suggesting the barest hint of tears. "Just over a week ago..."

Donatello cocked his head curiously, "What happened?"

Mikey sighed softly as he lowered his gaze to the grungy sewer floor and in a small voice explained.

* * *

To be continued


	5. Chapter 4

Series: TMNT

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: Overall story rated M for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Reeling from loss, hope will be found in an unexpected form. Leo, Donnie and Raph finally meet their mystery turtle face to face. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'.

**And One to Grow On**

Ch - 4

"Tell me, Michelangelo, when was the last time you saw your brothers?"

Mikey swallowed, the brightness of his eyes suggesting the barest hint of tears. "Just over a week ago..."

Donatello cocked his head curiously, "What happened?"

Mikey sighed softly as he lowered his gaze to the grungy sewer floor and in a small voice explained.

"My bros and I were kinda all burned out from searching for mutagen cannisters every night for months and we'd recently some bad stuff go down like when Raph's pet Spike mutated into Slash," Mikey shuddered at the memory "and then a couple of weeks later, a bunch of Footbots followed Raph and Casey to the lair so we decided to have a bit of chill time by taking a few hours off and just having some fun..."

\- . - . -

_'My bros deserve this," I think as I laugh at Raph's efforts. Things had been sucktastic lately and everyone agreed to taking a break to unwind and have fun for a couple of hours tonight and play around. And whose brilliant idea did we go with? Mine, yeah, that's whose! I suggested having a Ninja-off, kinda like a Dance-off but with cool and flashy ninja moves. Donnie had already had his turn and Raph was up now._

_Sure, my second oldest bro is the strongest of us but that's sheer turtle-headed strength. When it comes to the actual moves, well, let's just say some of the rest of us actually stand a chance of taking him down. I laugh again, really, I'm up next and Raph is making this way too easy. Raph glares in my direction as he finishes up his predictably boring set. He may be good yeah, we all are but seriously he has no style._

_I snicker a little too loudly, earning a rough shove up against my shoulder as Raph stalks over to us when he finishes._

"_Let's see you beat that, shell for brains." Raph taunts._

"_Too easy, bro!" I grin, somehow ignoring the jostling. I may not be the best fighter on this team, in fact, I'm probably the worst but when it comes down to it, I'm the most athletic, especially when I just let myself go with the flow. In this kind of competition, I probably only have to worry about what Leo does after me in this party._

_I saunter to the middle of the rooftop floor, swishing my hips mockingly in Raph's direction as both a warm up and to rub it in Raph's face that this turtle's got style. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Donnie rolling his eyes at Raph's and my display but he too is grinning, knowing that for once, Raph wasn't gonna win._

_I turn to face my bros and flash another cheeky grin Raph's way, "Ready to be shown how to moooove," I sway my whole body tauntingly as I deliberately draw out the word, "bro?"_

"_Just get on with it, doofus." Raph growls menacingly, but there's no venom in his words._

"_Wait!" Leo suddenly commands, hand up in a classic Captain Ryan dramatic halt pose._

"_Aw, Leo!" I whine, "I finally got my turn, why do I have..."_

"_Quiet! I heard something." Leo is looking really concerned right now as he quickly but stealthily runs to the far corner of the building and looks off into the distance. The rest of us reluctantly follow him over, me picking up my skateboard and tucking it into my belt at the back of my shell on the way._

"_The Kraang." Donnie says softly, eyes widening in surprise as we watch several human disguised Kraang leaving a van and entering a building._

_I shudder as I hear Raph crack his knuckles. I mean, that sound! It's just horrible and he does it deliberately, knowing just how much it sets my shell on edge. It's worse than fingernails on a blackboard. I really miss my blackboard. Can't really remember whatever happened to it... Oh yeah, Raph happened to it, I remember now. Those were the times. I smother a tiny grin at the memory of Raph's annoyance._

_I turn my head to see Raph's customary smirk covering his face, you know, the one that promises hell and that he's gonna enjoy it? "Great!" Raph says through the smug look, "Could really use some _real_ action tonight."_

_Leo smirks back, amused, "You're only saying that because you can't lose the competition if we don't finish it."_

"_No I'm not!"_

"_Okay guys, we go in, _silently_," he emphasises, looking at both me and Raph carefully. I give Leo a playful pout, "and see what they are doing in that warehouse._ _Do _not_ draw attention. I want to know their plans _before_ we take them down."_

_About twenty minutes later, we are inside, having __snuck__ in through the windows in the top floor and trying to find a good spot to spy on them from while also being able to overhear the nasty little alien brain blobs. I realise the sound doesn't carry too well in this place so I shuffle along the beam I'm on but I don't notice this piece of broken ceiling resting precariously on the beam until my hand brushes lightly against it. I realise too late and try desperately to catch it before the noise gives us away. Breathing a sigh of relief, I manage to quickly latch onto it before it's out of reach and stop it from clattering to the ground making for some angry bros._

_Uh oh... I guess my sigh was louder than I thought, 'cause suddenly Kraang droids are staring up at me._

"_It is the ones that are known as Turtles that are in this place where the ones known as Turtles are not meant to be!"_

"_Kraang, exterminate the ones known as Turtles that are in this place the ones known as Turtles are not meant to be."_

_Sometimes, I really think it's a good thing the Kraang are so long-winded. I mean, it sure gives us plenty of warning to haul our shells but it's pretty bad when it gives even me a headache listening to them butchering the English language._

_I ignore the irritated and furious glares of my bros as I hurriedly throw myself to the next beam over and swing down from beam to floor to avoid being shot by their blasters. Uhh.. I guess maybe jumping to the ground the way I did wasn't exactly one of my brighter moves as suddenly find myself completely surrounded with no where to go. Gulping, I realise even more Kraang are entering the floor. As they shoot at me, I dodge and weave, duck and roll, bounce and spring about, trying to dodge their blaster fire. At least half of the evil blobby aliens are focused on me but I just can't get near them to take them out. I can't even convert a 'chuck to a kusarigama or I'd be left too way open to their fire. In all my bouncing about like Cubbi, I'm happy to see that at least my bros are fine and still together. Sadly though, there are just too many Kraang in between us. We just can't get to each other, though, from the look on his face, Leo's got a plan! Too bad I don't know what it is and that I'm too far away to find out._

_Desperately, I look around, spinning a 'chuck and taking out a nearby Kraang. Smiling, I spot a door not too far away and with only a couple of Kraang in the way. Maybe I can lead some of these blob 'droids through there._

_I grin as I switch to my kusarigama, swinging the chained weapon wide to knock several blasters out of the Kraang's hands, uh tentacles? Suckered clutches? Heh! Whatever. Specifically the ones near that door. Quickly taking the chance, I run for it! Good thing I'm so fast. Gotta remember to thank Raph later; if he didn't keep chasing me and trying to pound my shell after I annoy him, I probably wouldn't be nearly as fast as I am. "Nyer nyer!" I tease as I rush by the Kraang 'droids. After making it through the door, I slam it shut behind me, breathing deeply as I lean my shell against it to regain my breath. A moment later, I look around the room, my eyes widening in absolute horror!_

_I'm trapped!_

_Seriously! There is no way out of this room other than the door I just came in through. I look wildly around the small room. The only thing in here to even hide behind is some computer console thingamie._

_I feel someone, or more likely something, trying to open the door behind me._

_I am so soup!_

_I do the only thing I can do, run over to the console thingamie, grabbing onto the edge to help me turn the corner of it faster and hunker down behind it; fingers accidentally brushing controls as I lower myself down. I try to steady my breathing. It sounds like _only_ two of them followed me into this room, not sure at this point if that is a good or a bad thing. They are making all sorts of clicking, whirring computery noises as they approach the console thingamie I am ducked behind. Or should that be turtled behind? I grin to myself for just a moment before remembering the trouble I had gotten myself into and sobering. Realising there is a gap between the bottom of the panel and the ground, I peek cautiously through at the Kraang from underneath, watching with bated breath and finally sighing with relief as the stupid Kraang both walk around the same side of the bulky hunk of metal and plastic. Really, it's all I can do not to snicker at their stupidity. For giant brains, they sure are dumb._

_I creep around the opposite side from them carefully, I'm gonna have to take the chance of getting back out to the main room. If I don't... I swallow, not wanting to even think about it._

_Quickly glancing back to the two Kraang 'droids, I notice their attention is completely focused on the control panel. Heh! And my bros think _I_ get distracted too easily! These Kraang are way worse than me. I grin and run for the closed door, hoping to get through it before they can shoot me. I don't even dare to look back again as I run through and slam the door behind me._

_I stop moving, cocking my head in confusion... I felt something odd as I passed through the doorway, almost like that time when I was younger and got a mild electric shock. I close my eyes to block distractions as I think back. This feeling was kinda the same but less..._

_Suddenly I remember I'm still in a battle and my eyes fly open in panic, thinking first thing I would see would be a blaster bolt about to hit my face. In relief, I don't see anything, then I wonder why no one has noticed me and starting to shoot at me again._

_Then I wonder why it's so quiet..._

_I stare around bemused. There's no one here._

No one_!_

_No Kraang..._

_No bros..._

_There isn't even any lights on!_

_This place was lit up like one of those Christmas trees you see in TV all the time and now it's dark! The only light coming in is from the almost full moon..._

_For a moment I wonder if Donnie got to the lights but..._

_There's really no one here..._

"_Bros?" I call, wondering where everyone went. It's like a surprise party but in reverse. I swallow. I really don't like this. My bros would never just leave me..._

"_Leo?... Raph?... D... Donnie?" I call again. There's still no answer. I start to worry. "If this is revenge for that prank I pulled earlier today, it's not funny you guys!"_

_I step further away from the door and look around, continuing to call for my brothers the whole time. Then I realise... there's no scorch marks from all that laser fire! There's also dust and debris everywhere. This place was mostly clean earlier, except for the ceiling beams and the Kraang's equipment._

_I look back at the door to that room I was in not long ago and swallow nervously. I gotta chance going through there again, even if it means being stuck in a room with two bloodthirsty, evil, alien blobs. I can take them out anyway, if I'm fast. I creep back to the door cautiously and stand to the side of it. Then I hesitantly reach over to the handle, turn it slowly, quietly and swing the door open as I suddenly jump into the room yelling "_Booyakasha_!"._

_Eyes wide with shock, I stare about the dark, empty room and whimper. What's going on? "Where is everyone?" After a few minutes of stunned staring, I slink back out the room again and begin to search the entire building. Maybe I somehow just ended up on the wrong floor? But no... the building is completely empty, falling apart and abandoned._

_I peer around. I just can't believe what I'm seeing so I rub my eyes. Then I remember my T-phone and pull it out. I breath a sigh of relief as it turns on and try calling Donnie..._

_My T-phone doesn't even ring out, it's just dead quiet. I shake it and hit it, then try to call Leo, then Raph. My phone just keeps making that dead sound. I even try April and the Cheese Phone._

_There's no signal... There's just nothing..._

_Suddenly I'm really, really scared._

\- . - . -

Mikey stopped talking, the hurt and fear over his situation fresh and raw. Leo stood there watching the orange masked stranger who in many ways reminded him of his own lost brother and felt a pang of sympathy for the young turtle. At some point during Michelangelo's story, Leonardo had sheathed one of his katana and while he still held the other, he had let it droop so it was pointing at the ground.

Leo glanced back at Raph, seeing the hothead was still glaring angrily in Michelangelo's direction but if he didn't know better, he might have believed he could see a small hint of compassion within his furious golden eyes. Leo snorted to himself, right!

Leonardo turned his attention back in front of him to where Michelangelo and Donnie were, seeing his younger brother give the other turtle a silent but sympathetic nod.

Michelangelo blinked back tears, refusing to let them fall in front of the turtles who had him literally against the wall. After a few moments of silence, Mikey, leaning with his shell against the grimy bricks of the old sewer passage, slid slowly down the wall till he was in a seated position. He slowly pulled his knees to his plastron, crossing his arms over them and resting his chin forlornly on them.

A few seconds later, "Go on," Leo prodded gently. "That was just over a week ago. What happened then?"

Mikey sighed, what happened next was the worst...

\- . - . -

_I stood in the middle of that warehouse for what must have been hours. I wasn't even aware of the time passing until I suddenly notice it's getting lighter. The sun is starting to rise and I panic. Sure, this place seems abandoned but that doesn't mean that no one definitely won't come here, besides, I don't wanna stay in this horrible place... I calm myself down and sneak out, careful to watch and listen out for any wandering early risers as I look for the nearest sewer entrance. When I finally find one, I have to hide from a couple of early morning dog walkers but I finally get a chance and quickly make my way to... safety..._

_After I work out where I actually am and how to get home from here, I trudge tiredly through the sewers. A couple of times I need to stash myself in the shadows of the piping above me to avoid being seen by sewer workers but luckily they pass by quickly. A few hours later, I reach the abandoned subway station where my home is meant to be. _

_Where my bros and Master Splinter should be._

_I look around, it's dark and dingy. There's no welcoming warmth and light like I normally expect when coming home. The only sign of life is from a bunch of cobwebs and a few of Raph's favourite roachy friends. Completely numb, I wander slowly through the lair. There are no doors on any of our rooms. The only things around is dirt and rubbish that looks like it has washed in from past flooding. Still hoping, though not really believing, that this is just some horrible revenge prank, I hesitantly look into the rooms of my bros, saving my own room for last._

_My breath hitches in my chest. It hurts so much seeing everything so dirty and empty._

_It looks like my family has never even been here._

"_Where are they?" I whimper, lost._

_Stifling a cry, I slowly wander into the dojo or rather, where the dojo _should_ have been. There was actually light in here. I look up curiously. The grate in the ceiling that's always been there is still there, filtering in a small patch of sunlight but it's not 'diffused' as Donnie would say. I walk over and squint up into the light, wondering why it's so different when I realise the mirrors that Donnie set up years ago to reflect and redirect the light, making it seem more than it really is aren't there either._

_I look around the room sadly; the room that's the heart and soul of our lives. I've never felt so empty and alone in my life. I don't know what's going on and I've never missed my family as much as I do right now. Sobbing with loneliness, I drop down to the ground under that small patch of sunlight and cry till I fall asleep._

_The sunlight is gone completely when I wake up hours later. I'm cold and hungry and I realise that even though I'm alone now, I need to go topside to find food and hopefully answers..._

\- . - . -

Mikey finally lifted his chin off his knees and looked up at Leo and Donnie, "and I've been going up for food every night since and taking out a few creeps while I'm at it. At least doing that there was someone to talk to. Kinda." He took a shuddering breath and suddenly canted his head curiously, "Weird thing though, the Purple Dragons seem to have been multiplying like cockroaches all of a sudden."

The other three turtles were silent, all of them considering Michelangelo's story in their own ways.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Leonardo suddenly sheathed his other katana. There was no threat here, he was certain of it, even if he didn't really know what to make of it all. All he knew was that he felt Michelangelo was telling them the truth, at least as far as the young turtle knew it. He looked to his nearby brother. "Any ideas, Don?"

Donnie took a deep breath and straightened back up to a standing position. "It seems to me that Michelangelo here is most likely from a parallel dimension; one in which many things are similar but also very different." He paced around the immediate area thoughtfully. "Whatever portal or dimensional crack that brought him here though, well, I don't know of anyone with technology like that. It just doesn't exist here that I know of."

Leonardo stared down at the obviously miserable Michelangelo sympathetically. "So, he's stuck here then, is he?"

Donatello nodded in confirmation, "For now, yes."

Turning on his heels, Leo walked over and picked up the fallen nunchaku and tossed aside kusarigama. He contemplated both weapons for a moment before walking back to hand them over to a surprised Michelangelo.

Raphael made a noise of absolute disgust and glared daggers at Leo from where he still stood, leaning against the wall. Leonardo ignored his volatile brother.

Mikey gave Leo a grateful smile as he took the proffered weapons. "Thanks, dude." Mikey stood up, slipping the nunchaku back into its holster and converted the kusarigama back into his second 'chuck before holstering that also.

Leonardo's eyes widened slightly in wonder. "Interesting weapon," he commented. He had wondered where Michelangelo had pulled it from earlier.

Mikey's smile faded and he sighed again, fingering the holstered weapons as if seeking comfort. Meeting these three and hearing Donatello's theory had explained much. He really was alone, though at the same time, in a weird way, he wasn't. It would have hurt his head to think about it if it wasn't for all his comics and sci-fi. He wondered briefly if his bros even knew what happened to him. He wasn't home and he might never be able to find home, not without some serious help anyway.

And while these three strange looking and strange sounding turtles were actually his brothers in some bizarre way, they had no obligation to him and now that they had sated their curiosity about him, there was absolutely nothing to stop them from just leaving him to be alone.

Again...

\- . - . -

To be continued.

A/N:

I've never written in first person or present tense before so if you have any tips as to improving, I welcome them.

_Please_ let me know what you think.


	6. Chapter 5

Series: TMNT

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: "You're already hurtin' 'em, There's already been enough loss as it is." The stranger glared in obvious trepidation. Reeling from loss, hope will be found in an unexpected form. Leo, Donnie and Raph finally meet their mystery turtle face to face. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'.

Please comment. Concrit is always welcome. Thank you to those of you who have favourited or followed this story. Knowing you are interested really helps.

**And One to Grow On**

Ch - 5

He wondered briefly if his bros even knew what happened to him. He wasn't home and he might never be able to find home, not without some serious help anyway.

And while these three strange looking and strange sounding turtles were actually his brothers in some strange way, they had no obligation to him and now that they had sated their curiosity about him, there was absolutely nothing to stop them from just leaving him to be alone.

Again...

Leonardo and Donatello exchanged looks before turning to face Raphael but he wouldn't return their gaze. He instead just continued to glare at this other Michelangelo. Sure, Donnie suspected he was from another dimension but it's not like his brother knew for certain. This was difficult for Raph. On one hand, Raph trusted his genius brother's judgement on such things weird or scientific but on the other, for all they really knew this was just some elaborate set-up designed to hurt and trap them. Taking this 'Michelangelo's' word for it just did not seem worth the risk to him.

Or worth the reminder.

His hostile gaze still locked unerringly on 'Michelangelo', Raph noticed Leo and Donnie turn to contemplate each other and nod before turning back to scrutinise Michelangelo.

Leo exhaled, as if steeling himself, "Well, I guess there's not really much other choice. You will have to come home with us."

Michelangelo looked up at Leonardo, "You really mean it?" he asked, his expression incredulous with hope.

Raph's glare turned into a scowl. "Are you frickin' insane Leo? We can't take... _him_ back with us! We don't know him and we certainly can't trust him!"

"Raph, he may be from another dimension but he's still family... kind of... Either way, we cannot just leave him, it's not safe!"

"How can you be sure it's safe us takin' him home? He's an unknown _risk_!" Raph all but spat.

"He may not our Mikey but he's _still_ Michelangelo." Leo sighed in exasperation. "We'll blindfold him before we leave here so he doesn't know where the lair is and _then_ Master Splinter can talk to him." Leo decided firmly, hoping those conditions would at least appease his outraged brother.

Raphael grumbled, still not happy but he acquiesced.

Mikey pulled away when Leonardo stepped forward to turn his mask and asked for just a minute. When Leo backed off, Mikey looked up to the piping in the tunnel above his head, his eyes searching. He took a brief running jump and nimbly hauled himself up. A few seconds later, Mikey lightly dropped down to the tunnel floor once more, skateboard in hand and stashed it in the back of his belt. With a hint of nervousness in his voice, Mikey looked back to Leo and spoke, "I'm ready now."

\- . - . -

Since he couldn't see, the journey to the lair belonging to these strange looking versions of his brothers felt like it took forever to Mikey. Leonardo's hand was securely on his arm the whole way and from all the excessive turns and twists, Mikey could tell they were deliberately trying to confuse him. 'Not that that would be too hard,' Mikey mused wryly. At several points in the trip, they even spun him around on the spot. While Mikey knew that Leo didn't fully trust him, he felt that that was really a bit extreme, even though it was probably done to mollify Raph who continued to be vocal against his presence.

After he was spun around for the sixth time, Mikey joked, "Good thing I don't get motion sick, dudes." His joke was met with an uncomfortable and even slightly hostile, silence. 'Maybe I should have just taken my chances staying on my own...' he groaned inwardly just before painfully stubbing his middle toe, Joey Nails, on a loose brick or rock or something.

Mikey tried, he really did, to keep from voicing his cry of surprised pain but wasn't quite successful as he stopped and grabbed his foot, bouncing on the spot in pain.

"Uh... sorry," Leo muttered. "I should have realised you wouldn't see that."

He heard Raph mutter something unintelligible and probably derogatory, from the tone.

Mikey gingerly put his foot back down. He sighed inwardly, again. He really wanted nothing more than for all this to be over. He hated not being able to see and he hated feeling so distrusted and he really hated the obvious hate being directed his way from this Raph. "I'm okay, Leo, it's just one of those things that hurts for a minute and then you forget about it." He reassured with a cheerful grin. "Can we get going again? Please?" He unconsciously stressed the last word.

"Sure, we're nearly there anyway." Relief surged through Mikey as he heard Leonardo's reply.

They walked for about another ten minutes or so and Mikey was spun around on the spot yet again. By this time, he felt completely disoriented, he barely knew which was even up and was beginning to feel a little sick. Whether that was from being spun around or just the situation in general though, he had no idea.

"Okay, Michelangelo," Leo spoke clearly but quietly from right beside him. "Stop here for a moment while Don opens the door. After we get in and the door has been closed, you can turn your mask around again."

Mikey nodded, filled with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

A couple of minutes later, which didn't pass by fast enough, in his opinion, Mkey stood blinking into suddenly bright light. He looked all around him curiously, feeling some disappointment at what he saw. There was a lot of open space sure, but it was full of so many cold metal catwalks everywhere. There was a few homey touches to the place, a few rugs here and there, a couple of old dilapidated couches and scattered chairs but no photos or pictures or even any wall hangings. Overall, it felt kind of cold in the empty sense.

"Welcome home, my sons." A slightly raspy voice startled Mikey and he turned to see who spoke. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of a very short, very grey rat that he assumed was Master Splinter in this world.

After his initial shock of meeting his other dimensional bros, Mikey could feel that he recognised them. They didn't look or sound like his brothers but despite the fact that their personalities seemed a little different than he was used to, though for all he knew that could have just been because they seemed to be hurting so much, they still _felt_ like Leo, Raph and Donnie. This new Master Splinter though, didn't. Somehow, it was like he wasn't even the same person. At all.

And that was just plain weird.

Mikey couldn't help but stare curiously into the beady eyes that met his as Splinter gazed back, furry eyebrows raised questioningly.

"I see you found Raphael's mystery turtle." Splinter observed.

"Yes Sensei,we did." Leonardo replied bowing.

The corner of Splinter's mouth raised with an amused quirk. "Is it not a good thing then, that you did not dismiss your brother's concerns so quickly after all?"

Mikey risked a glance at Leo, noticing his face flush with embarrassment. "You dudes were actually looking for me?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes," Donatello replied. "Raph spotted you in the distance three nights ago but was unable to find you once you went underground. We've searched for you each night since."

"Oh..." Mikey simply said, not knowing quite how to feel about the news.

"We were lucky you entered the sewers in the same place you did the other night," Donnie smiled, "or we may have had a much harder time catching up to you."

"Yes," Leonardo added in a cool tone, "although, to be honest, it is more that you are the one who is lucky that it was _us_ who found you and not an enemy. If it were someone else trying to track down, it may not have gone so well. For you."

Mikey looked down at his feet, chastised. Definitely Leo alright, giving lectures freely and making him feel rightfully stupid.

"Leonardo," Splinter chided gently, "I do believe that introductions and explanations are in order."

Mikey looked back up as he noticed Splinter walk up to him and stop just a short distance away.

Splinter canted his head as he regarded Michelangelo seriously, "Though, I do believe I somehow already know you."

\- . - . -

"I see. That is quite some story, Michelangelo." Splinter said thoughtfully at the end of the tale. He looked at each of the four turtles one after another before standing. "I wish to go meditate and sleep on this matter, you should all go do the same as it is quite late. Please show Michelangelo to where he may sleep. Goodnight, my sons, Michelangelo." With that, Splinter left the makeshift lounge area and went to his own room, leaning heavily on his walking stick as he moved.

Three pairs of eyes trained on Mikey, one set openly hostile, one curious and one thoughtful. Mikey met them all in turn, feeling very uncomfortable at the obvious scrutiny. "So, um..." he started to speak but was interrupted by Raph.

"He ain't takin' Mikey's room!" Raph snarled, aggressively motioning in Michelangelo's direction. "He can sleep on the couch or on the floor for all I care or just shove him in the infirmary but he ain't havin' our brother's room!" He then clambered angrily to his feet and stalked to his own room without another word.

"Probably best not to argue with Raph tonight." Donnie sighed then faced Michelangelo. "Would you prefer the couch or the bed in the infirmary?"

"Couch..."

"Okay, I'll go get you some blankets and a pillow."

"And I'll give you a quick tour." Leo said after Donatello disappeared from sight. "I'll show you the place more thoroughly tomorrow."

"'kay." Mikey muttered.

Leonardo gave Mikey a whirlwind tour, showing him the bathroom, kitchen and his own room just in case Mikey needed anything in the night.

"Are you hungry... Michelangelo?" Leo asked almost as an afterthought, failing to hide his wince as he spoke Mikey's name.

Mikey hesitated a moment before nodding. "Starved, actually. I didn't really get a chance to find anything tonight."

"Right... Well, there should be some leftover pizza in the fridge. Feel free to help yourself. I'm heading to bed now." Leo quickly said, keeping his face as emotionless as possible as he walked away. Mikey watched him as he suddenly paused and half turned back. "Oh, by the way, don't try to open the lair door. You'll set off the alarms if you do."

With that, Leonardo left for his bed, leaving Mikey feeling more lost and alone than he did when he first found himself in that suddenly empty warehouse just over a week ago.

To be continued.

AN: Kinda short, I know but otherwise it would have been too long til the next chapter break.


	7. Chapter 6

Series: TMNT

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: "You're already hurtin' 'em, There's already been enough loss as it is." The stranger glared in obvious trepidation. Reeling from loss, hope will be found in an unexpected form. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'

**And One to Grow On**

Ch - 6

_Michelangelo lets out a whoop of pure, joyful abandon. The night is a warm, moonless and clear one and he revels in the feeling of the wind rushing against his face as he runs across the rooftops into the night. His brothers surround him, Leonardo in front, Donatello and Raphael to either side. It is a quiet evening but nonetheless, all four are enjoying themselves immensely. He gazes at Raph via his peripheral vision and can't, nor does he want, to contain the smile that breaks out over his face._

"_Stop being creepy." Raph quickly accuses but Mikey notices the corners of his own mouth quirk up at the edges and neither is there any malice in the acerbic turtle's voice._

_But tonight is a night for mischief and Mikey is well prepared, not only for himself to have some fun but for his brothers to get in on the action too; they just don't know it yet. He sees the right building looming not far ahead and slightly to the left. With his grin widening, he dashes forward, somersaulting over Leo to steer the others towards it._

"Mikey_!" Leo cries in mock exasperation._

_Mikey turns so he is running backwards and eggs them on, grinning impudently the whole while. "_Nyer nyer_! Catch me if you can, bros!"_

_Donnie shakes his head, trying to hide his vague amusement and Leo and Raph exchange glances, grinning. As one, all three begin to chase the wayward turtle and Mikey turns to face forward once more in an effort to keep ahead of them._

_When he reaches his desired rooftop, he stops, grins a cheeky, mocking grin and skips behind a long planter. He watches his incoming brothers carefully, counting down as they get close._

_Three_

_Two_

_One_

_And throws three filled water balloons with quick succession. Leo naturally dodges, Donnie and Raph both wear theirs full in the face and stop stock still._

"_Plenty of balloons laying around the roof bros, you just gotta beat me to them first." Mikey teases, continuing to grin and running for another slightly hidden stack._

_A couple of hours later, all four brothers return home, thoroughly wet; at least their gear is, their skin and shells had already dried off on the run home, and laughing._

_Master Splinter is waiting for them, with a warm, loving expression present in his eyes as they enter the lair and Mikey meets his gaze, happy, despite the glorious night they had left behind outside, to be home._

A warm, contented feeling filled Michelangelo's very being as he woke, warmer and more comfortable than he'd been in over a week. A serene smile slowly spread across his face as he lay there; he didn't feel like opening his eyes yet, he was happy just revelling in this wonderful feeling of being loved for a while.

It didn't take long before he began to wonder why the bed beneath him didn't feel like his own, nor did it feel like the cushioned bench they used as a couch in the pit; after all, it wouldn't have been the first time he had fallen asleep there. Then he frowned as the nightmare memories of the last lonely week intruded, flooding into his mind and with a sinking heart, Mikey finally remembered where he was.

Before last night, he had been essentially lost and confused. Yes, he had known _where_ he was and how to get home but home wasn't really there and he hadn't known why or even how that was possible. Now, after the events of last night, he finally had his explanation and he wasn't sure which was worse; not knowing what was going on or knowing and realising he had no way home to his family, friends and comic book collection...

Finally he opened his eyes, feeling cold inside all over again. He didn't know how it was possible that one could feel so warm and yet so cold all at the same time. Mikey slowly sat up, clutching the blankets tightly around himself in a subconscious effort to comfort himself and looked around the room he was in, taking in every detail of this cold, cold place. Mikey felt the tears threaten to well again and he blinked them back hurriedly.

What was he going to do...

Could he really stay here?

It was obvious, even to him, that he wasn't wanted here, at least not by Raph. It was harder to tell with Leo and Donnie but they were obviously uncomfortable around him too, however they had both at least been kind. Well, Donnie had been kind. Leo... he had just been doing his duty.

Mikey didn't want to hurt them by him just being there, yet he didn't know what else he could do. For that matter, he wondered why him just being around hurt them so much and where the other Mikey was. He wasn't even sure if anything had been said about it last night, though he suspected it probably had. Most of that confrontation with the other three was little more than a blur, he'd been far too busy fighting for his life to remember what exactly had been said at the time. He stared forward miserably at the blank wall of televisions as the thoughts and feelings circled and whorled throughout his mind.

Suddenly a voice spoke aloud, interrupting his reverie and making Mikey jump in sudden surprise.

"Good morning, Michelangelo." Splinter spoke, taking in the forlorn sight of Michelangelo wrapped securely in his blanket, as he sat upright on the couch.

Mikey's heart further fell when he saw disappointment etched clearly within the strange rat's eyes. "Morning..." he muttered.

"Are you alright?" Splinter asked, gazing at him in concern.

Mikey started nodding but against his will, it quickly turned into a shake of the head. "Yeah... no... I just... I just miss my home and my family. That's all. No biggie..."

Splinter sat down beside him, resting a gentle paw on Mikey's knee. "I understand, it is a 'biggie'. It is hard to be separated from those you love, especially when you know not of their fate." When Mikey nodded, Splinter continued. "As long as you are here, in this world, Michelangelo, you are welcome to share our home. You may be strange to us and we to you but one way or another, we are all still family."

Mikey watched Splinter's eyes silently.

"Do not worry about Raphael, like the rest of us, he is hurting but he will come around eventually. Just be patient and give him some time." Splinter smiled gently at Michelangelo, giving him a comforting pat on the knee his paw rested on. "Now come, come join me for tea in the kitchen."

With that, Splinter stood and walked to the kitchen, leaning on his walking stick as he went. Mikey hesitated for a moment then bounced lightly to his feet, leaving the blanket to fall where it may and followed; if nothing else, at least glad for the company after more than a week without.

\- . - . -

At Splinter's request, Mikey was happily talking about his brothers, their home and some of their adventures over the hot beverage when Leonardo walked in to join them. Mikey beamed up at him from where he sat at the table. "Morning, Leo!"

Leonardo glanced at him as if in surprise at seeing him sitting there and Mikey couldn't help but notice the slight cringe that Leo was unable to hide. "Uh... Morning Michelangelo." He then faced Splinter and bowed respectfully. "Good morning, Master Splinter."

Splinter dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Good morning, my son."

A few minutes later, Leonardo also sat with a freshly brewed tea. The silence had become quite uncomfortable again. Mikey tried to continue talking to Splinter but found he had lost his admittedly bumpy train of thought after Leo's reaction to him and he was no longer sure what to say or even if he should say anything.

Mikey watched Leo take a two handed sip from his tea and carefully place the cup down. He was trying not to openly stare but it was so hard not to; he was just so different from the Leo he knew. Mikey soon found Leo looking back up at him. Leonardo seemed as if he wanted to say something but couldn't quite bring himself to do so, so Mikey smiled at him, hoping it would come across encouragingly.

Leo finally seemed to come to a decision and sat up straighter, finally meeting Mikey's eyes dead on. "Why the shell would you bring your skateboard on a mission, Michelangelo?

Mikey stared for a moment in shock at the accusation which seemed to come out of nowhere before laughing suddenly, "Dude! We weren't on a real mission, we were only hunting for mutagen and then having some fun time after. We only ran into the Kraang co-in... co-incit... co-incidontally. Anyway, I often take the board on patrol."

"I obviously don't know the details as I was not there but hunting for mutagen still sounds like a mission to me." Leonardo reprimanded sternly as he leaned forward stiffly, annoyed over the fact that Michelangelo averted his gaze. "It is very irresponsible for you to take such a thing."

"Yeah, well... My Leo doesn't mind. Besides, we've all taken our boards plenty of times before, though the others not as much as me." Mikey, upset over the perceived insult, raised his eyes, looking straight at Leonardo again.

"It doesn't sound as if..."

"_Perhaps_ this is a discussion for another time." Splinter interjected diplomatically. "After all, this is the breakfast table."

"Yes Sensei." "Hai Sensei." They said as one.

Donatello and Raphael chose that moment to walk in, or stumble in, in Donnie's case. Neither commented. Donnie essentially groped for the coffee, blinking back sleepiness as he prepared it but Raph glared fiercely at Michelangelo while making his own breakfast before pointedly ignoring the other dimensional turtle and sitting down as far away from Mikey as possible while still being seated at the same table.

"Good morning, my sons." Splinter smiled as they sat down.

Donnie muttered back something that may have been "morning" if the caffeine had kicked in yet and Raph grunted "g'morin'" before glaring down at his breakfast.

After a more few minutes of awkward quiet, Splinter turned back to Michelangelo, eager to get the conversation going once more. "I admit to being rather curious Michelangelo, but how old are you? You seem as if you are younger than my sons."

Donnie looked blearily up at Mikey, blinking as he curiously awaited the answer.

"I'll be sixteen in just over a month." he beamed.

"I see. That makes you about four years younger than my sons."

Mikey blinked, not really certain what to say to that; if he had truly been a part of this family, that really would make him the younger brother and this time by more than just a few hours or days, whatever it really was; no one was actually certain of the exact age difference.

"Explains a lot." Leonardo muttered critically.

"Leonardo, Donatello, _Raphael_," Splinter made sure he had his sons' undivided attention."Michelangelo will be staying here with us until you can find a way to return him to his home, however long it takes. He may not be the Michelangelo we knew, however he is still Michelangelo. You will _all_ welcome him as a friend." Splinter explicitly looked at Raphael at this point. "And you _will_ allow him to use Michelangelo's room."

"Master Splinter, you can't be serious!" Raph exploded, outraged at the thought of their precious brother's room being used by some poseur.

"I assure you, Raphael, that I am very serious." Splinter said resolutely, in a tone that brooked no argument.

"But all his things are in there! It's all we have left! We can't jus' let some imposter take over!"

Mikey looked down at his hands; so huge compared to the other three turtles in front of him, that held his half drunk tea. 'I won't cry! Not in front of them. I won't!'

"Michelangelo is not an 'imposter'. He is another version of your brother. I understand you are upset, Raphael but we do not have any other rooms set up for guests. There really is little choice in this matter."

"_But_..."

"Raphael! You will not continue to argue with me about this. My decision stands." Splinter commanded firmly, looking Raphael solidly in the eyes.

"Yes, Sensei." Raph muttered, clearly not happy at all as he averted his gaze.

"Raph," Donnie spoke softly as he put down the coffee he had been sipping. "What if it was one of us?"

Raph turned to stare hostilely at his purple masked brother.

"How would you feel if it was one of us stuck in a strange world, away from everything and everyone we knew and loved?" Donnie paused for a moment to also glance at Leo, making sure he was listening too, before looking back to Raph and continuing in the same calm, quiet tone. "Being trapped in a place so similar to our own and yet different enough to make everything strange and feel wrong would be worse than being stuck across the universe on an alien world; something we know all about. At least on an alien world, you _expect_ things to be different and not heartbreakingly familiar." Donatello took a deep breath and made sure Raph was still paying attention before continuing, "Don't you see? We _have_ to help him, however we can. All we have is each other and right now, we are all that Michelangelo has."

Raphael's face had softened a little as he listened to Donnie's quiet but somehow impassioned and persuasive speech. He looked to Leo and saw guilty agreement etched tightly across his oldest brother's face. Then he looked to Michelangelo, taking in the younger turtle's freckled features, his light green skin, the slightly chubby face that sang of youth which was all so different to the brother he knew and then finally, Raph looked into Michelangelo's hugely expressive, bright blue eyes that seemed as if they could never be able to hide his true emotions no matter _how_ hard he tried and it was those that hit Raph hard and deep. Within them, he could see echoes of Mikey, _their_ Mikey and it _hurt_! Like _shell_!

He couldn't...

He just couldn't take this proverbial slap to the face. He felt his long standing and carefully constructed walls crumbling with every second he looked at the other-dimensional turtle.

He couldn't, he _wouldn't,_ continue to sit at the same table as this oh-so-different-but-obviously-somehow-still-Mikey Mikey or he felt he would shatter into millions of pieces.

Raphael shoved his chair roughly away from the table and scrambled to his feet, storming out of the kitchen, out of the lair and out into the sewers.

To be continued.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I don't own any Marvel characters either. Life is cruel *pouts*. Don't own Trek either, for that matter.

Warnings: Little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch – 7

Raphael felt his long standing and carefully constructed walls crumbling with every second he looked at the other-dimensional turtle.

He couldn't, he _wouldn't,_ continue to sit at the same table as this oh-so-different-but-obviously-somehow-still-Mikey Mikey or he felt he would shatter into millions of pieces.

Raph shoved his chair roughly away from the table and scrambled to his feet, storming out of the kitchen, out of the lair and out into the sewers.

"I'm sorry... if you dudes hadn't found me, it wouldn't be like this. I... if you'd prefer me to leave, I... understand." Michelangelo whispered a few minutes later. More than anything, Mikey didn't really want to be alone again, he wasn't sure he could stand it if he was, but he didn't like the way his other-dimensional bros were reacting to his presence. He felt that being here was hurting them badly and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"You will do no such thing, Michelangelo. I already told you that you are welcome here." Splinter said firmly, his tone brooking no argument.

"Besides," Leo smiled, "I haven't seen Raph so mellow in months."

At Mikey's incredulous look, Donnie added, "It's true, Michelangelo. Since Raph first saw you the other night, he's started to talk to us again. He's even stopped pushing Casey away and now I've got two of my brothers back. "

"I will admit that it's not easy having you here, Michelangelo, but I would much rather you safe and here with us than out there on your own, especially in a world that you don't know. I'm sure both of our worlds have dangers unique to each and many the same or similar but that doesn't mean you are prepared for what's here." Leo explained. "So please don't think you need to leave."

Mikey nodded with a relieved smile, happy that he didn't have to go while also being painfully aware that no one had actually said that they _wanted_ him to stay. He couldn't blame them though, after all, he didn't even belong here. Another him did. Mikey blinked as he wondered yet again, "Where's your me anyway? What happened to him?"

Leonardo, Donatello and Master Splinter all froze, their expressions stilling, growing cold with pain and guilt. The tension; the hurt and the sadness in the air was so thick that Mikey felt sure it could have been cut with a knife. That is when he realised that he had once again accidentally spoken his thoughts out loud. Cringing with self recrimination, he gingerly looked up to each of the three seated at the kitchen table. Not one met his eyes. Mikey hesitated and tried to speak, to apologise. "I..."

"He's gone." Leo interrupted emotionless, refusing to look at him as he scraped his chair away from the table.

Mikey watched as Leo stalked out of the room, feeling bad about yet again putting his foot in it. Talk about story of his life, he groaned internally, his mouth was always getting him into trouble and it was usually unintentionally.

Donnie was staring down at his coffee, sad and silent and Mikey felt certain he could see an unhealthy dose of guilt in the genius's expression. After a while, Donnie looked up with a tight, watery smile. "Tonight, once it's dark, I think you should take us to the location that you first arrived at in this world. There is always a chance there could be a clue or an energy reading that... could help. Even though more than a week has passed since you arrived."

Mikey nodded silently, too afraid to speak in case he said the wrong thing again.

"Meditation, followed by training starts in ten minutes. Do not be late." Splinter silently stood from the table and walked out of the room. Mikey marvelled at how the rat was able to lean so much on his walking stick and yet make not a single sound before pondering on his words.

"Does... does he mean me too?" Mikey asked hopefully, desperately wanting some kind of normalcy back in his life.

Donnie chuckled almost mirthlessly and drained the dregs of his once hot drink. "Yes, that includes you too."

\- . - . -

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Mikey tried to centre himself, to relax, let go and concentrate on his breathing and emptying his mind. Despite the things his brothers so often cruelly said about him, emptying his mind was _never_ that easy. It was always racing a mile a minute, often in many different directions at once.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

It never took much for his attention to wander, like he noticed it was already doing right now. Guiltily, he struggled to focus on just breathing again.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

This place was so new to him, he hadn't even seen the entire lair yet. The Leo that belonged here was harsher, more serious than his own geeky brother. His thoughts drifted, wondering about that wicked looking scar on Leo's shell. How and when did he get that? What had they been through? Who could even manage to do such a thing to Leonardo, _any_ Leonardo. Mikey wondered for a moment what the person who did that to him looked like afterwards.

So far, not that he had had that much interaction with him, Raph didn't seem so different, at least not in his wannabe 'Hulk Mad' impersonation. He thought, wondering if this Raph also had a softer side; based on what he had seen so far though, he highly doubted it. 'Probably will never know,' Mikey mused thoughtfully, 'this Raph seems to straight out hate me... I wonder just how close he and this world's me are, must have been really close to be able to hate me this much when he doesn't even know me.' In Mikey's opinion, this Raph seemed to snarl and growl more than a Dogpound in heat. 'Oops! I mean Rahzar now.' he snickered internally, not that he had ever seen Rahzar in heat; not that he wanted to even _think_ about it. Mikey shuddered, he seriously wanted to wash his brain out with bleach now. Maybe he should ask Donnie later if he had something to help him with that.

That accent though, it was so weird, how was it possible that he sounded so different when none of the others did.

Donnie was the most different of these guys from his bros. This Donnie seemed so quiet and soft spoken, nothing at all like his Donnie. Mikey smirked briefly, thinking of his Donnie's nerd rages before sobering.

He missed him so much.

Donnie had always put up with far more from Mikey than his other bros did. They were practically best buds. Donnie still got testy with him sure, just like everyone else did but they hung out together and teamed up far more. Not so much recently though, as they used to. At home, Donnie had taken on more and more of a work load, as he studied the mutagen and tried to come up with a way to reverse its effects. He didn't have as much time for Mikey as he used to have and Mikey had definitely noticed and felt it. Even out on patrol, lately Mikey had been teamed with Raph more often instead.

He wondered if his bros knew what happened to him, if they were even trying to find him.

If they even wanted to find him...

For a moment he remembered back to last year when they were trying to rescue April's dad and each of his brothers said straight out that they didn't want him, that had hurt so much and no one even noticed. 'Maybe that's why Leo doesn't pair me and Donnie so much any more... trying not to burden one brother with me so often...'

Mikey shook his head emphatically, shaking away the sudden ache at the horrible memory which he always tried so hard to forget. Of course they were trying to find him, they were his family! They loved him! Even if they never actually said it, Mikey could tell. He could always tell what they were really feeling, at least he could when he wasn't distracted by whatever else.

"Eh hem!" Someone cleared their throat warningly.

Mikey straightened where he sat cross-legged guiltily. Meditating now, that's right!

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

It took him a moment to place that voice. Splinter. No one's voice was right or familiar here. That may have been for the best though, really. If they sounded and looked the same, it might have hurt even more than it already did, not that he wanted them to see he was hurting too.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

This strange Splinter's accent was even missing.

He wondered if Leo, Donnie and Raph here were triplets, maybe quads if this dimension's version of him was included. Was that even possible? They hatched from eggs but could four of them fit in a single egg? He didn't really think so but they all looked so much the same! The only real difference seemed to be their skin tones and maybe the patterns on their shells, though he hadn't had much chance to look.

Mikey suddenly felt a deep sense of disappointment directed his way.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Was that Splinter or Leo? Both maybe...

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Master Splinter. Mikey tried to feel him out. It was him that really felt the weirdest here. He had noticed when he first laid eyes on him last night. It wasn't even his lack of height or the odd colouring of his fur. Mikey just couldn't put his finger on the source of the feeling. When he met Leo, Donnie and Raph, they had still _felt_ like Leo, Donnie and Raph only a bit more... extreme? in their personalities. _Why_ was it that his father and sensei didn't feel _anything_ like the father and sensei he grew up with. He seriously didn't understand why that was. Mikey felt like he was just being stupid again. He felt like...

"That is enough my sons, Michelangelo." Splinter's voice broke through, interrupting Mikey's reverie.

Mikey blinked his eyes open and looked up.

"Yes, Sensei."

"Hai, Sensei."

\- . - . -

The first thing Donatello noticed during practice was that due to his lesser experience, Michelangelo had a little trouble keeping up with him and Leonardo. There were a few things that Michelangelo just didn't know yet, things he had obviously not been taught. It made sense though, given that the other dimensional turtle was nearly four years younger than them and the events that had happened in this dimension to forge them either had not happened in his yet or were unlikely to happen, depending of course on just how different their two realities were.

Master Splinter took this lack of knowledge in his stride and while Donnie and Leo sparred, Splinter took Michelangelo aside to give him personal lessons on the things he had yet to learn.

Raph never turned up for their training that morning and Donnie could tell Leo was resentful. Probably due to what Leo would have perceived as a lack of respect to their Sensei. Donnie himself though, wasn't surprised at all by their younger brother's absence. In his opinion, their younger brother was just too emotional for his own good, not that he would ever actually _tell_ him that. Telling him would just be asking for trouble, not to mention unnecessary pain.

Finally, about four hours after it began, training was over and Splinter left to go watch one of his 'stories', leaving the three turtles to clean up in the dojo. With all three of them working together, it at least didn't take them too long. The uncomfortable silence was broken when Leo eventually spoke up.

"When did you and your brothers start going topside on your own?"

"The first time we ever went up at all was on our fifteenth mutation day." Mikey blinked, surprised at the weird question.

"The first time? _Ever_?" Leo asked in astonishment.

Mikey nodded, "Well, I know Raph snuck up once before when we were younger. Master Splinter found out so fast though and handed Raph's shell to him so hard that none of us dared to sneak up since. That I know of anyway. Raph's a slow learner so it wouldn't surprise me if he tried again." Mikey snickered.

"Wow..." Donnie paused in his cleaning to stare at Michelangelo in disbelief. "That's about when we started going up on our own but we had been up on numerous occasions with Master Splinter before that. We'd often go scavenging with him, both at the various junk yards and the alleyways behind restaurants and super markets. You guys really _never_ helped go looking for food and other essentials?"

"That must have been so hard on your Splinter, finding enough food for five mouths on his own, especially as you got older." Leo shook his head in wonder.

"Not really. We um... farmed our own food ever since I can remember." Mikey explained. "Didn't you?"

"Not much really grows down here so that was never really an option. Even if it was, we were much too young to know how and Master Splinter wouldn't have known either." Leo answered as he started gathering the cleaning supplies to return them to their storage place as they finished cleaning.

"What kinds of food did your family grow?" Donnie asked curiously before venturing thoughtfully, "I'm guessing certain kinds of edible fungus but surely that couldn't be all." He took some of the gear from Leo and the three turtles headed out of the dojo to the closet that Donnie had built for their cleaning equipment with Leo's help when they moved here.

"Fungus?" Mikey asked peculiarly, "Never heard of that before but it sounds kinda fun." He grinned suddenly at his own joke.

"Don means mushrooms." Leo explained with a shake of his head at the poor quip.

"Oh! You mean that stuff you put on pizzas!" Mikey continued to grin, ignoring Leo's reaction. "Nuh dude, we grew worms and algae."

Donatello and Leonardo stopped suddenly and Mikey accidentally crashed into the two. They turned and stared at the orange masked turtle in abject horror.

"What?" Mikey asked, taken aback by the way they looked at him.

"You... ate nothing but algae..."

"and worms..."

"For fifteen years?"

"Uh, yeah, of course." Mikey replied as if the other two were stupid. "What else would we have eaten?"

"Actual real food." Leo said faintly.

"Actually Leo, for normal turtles, that would be a considerable part of a normal diet, depending of course on the species of turtle. Other normal dietary requirements would include..."

"No offence Don, but I'm already green enough without you making my stomach turn even more." Leonardo interjected hurriedly.

"Heh!" Mikey laughed, "Yeah, ever since we found the mythical pizza that first night topside, my bros can't even look at worms and algae without being sick any more."

"And you can?" Leo asked cautiously, dreading the answer.

"Sure dude, food's food but I don't really like to eat anything other than pizza or similar if I can help it now."

"But... why worms and algae? Really?"

"It's what the pet store dude told Master Splinter to feed us when he bought us of course." Mikey nodded matter of factly. "Speaking of food, I'm starving! Do... you mind if I get some lunch, dude?" he asked as his stomach grumbled loudly.

Leonardo shook his head, digesting the conversation. There was something about what Michelangelo just said that bothered him slightly, and it wasn't the so called food but he was too distracted by Michelangelo's question to put his finger on it. "You don't need to ask, Michelangelo. I told you last night to just help yourself and Master Splinter said this morning to consider this your home until you can get back to your own."

Mikey smiled relieved, "Cool, thanks dude." He turned and began to head to the kitchen when Donatello called out to him after suddenly remembering something.

"Wait, Michelangelo!" When Mikey turned back to him, questioning expression filling his face, Donnie continued. "You said last night that your phone, what did you call it again?"

"My T-phone?"

"Yes, you said it stopped working after you arrived here."

Michelangelo nodded cautiously, "Yeah... I guess I broke it somehow but I really dunno what I did..."

Donnie chuckled, "I doubt you broke it. It is most likely on a specialised network of its own so crossing to this dimension means it simply no longer has access to a network. That would explain why you could not get a signal anymore when you tried to phone home. If you give it to me, I'll patch it into our network so you can use it again."

For a moment, Mikey began to look excited at the thought but then he sobered, looking miserable as he dug the themed phone out of its pouch in his belt. "Only one problem dude, it's really dead now... Has been for three days." He handed over the T-phone regardless. Mikey had been feeling even more separated from home ever since it died, no longer allowing him to at least look at the photos of his beloved family within.

Donnie gently took the proffered communications device from Michelangelo's outstretched hand and nodded absently as he turned it over and over in his hands out of curiosity. "I am sure it only needs charging up again. I'll sort out a way to do that also." He looked up suddenly aware that Michelangelo seemed upset. "Don't worry, it'll be fine." Donnie tried to smile comfortingly.

"Thanks Donnie dude." Mikey said, smiling in return. Donnie noticed though that the smile didn't quite reach Michelangelo's eyes. He watched as their younger visitor continued walking slowly to the kitchen.

Donnie and Leo exchanged a quick glance and then, without a word, they went their separate ways; Leo to the bedrooms and Donnie to his lab.

\- . - . -

It didn't take Donatello much time to cobble together an adapter to charge up the intriguing T-phone, at least until he could make the time to make a more permanent charger. Once the telecommunications device had gained enough power to turn on again, Donnie poured over it, taking in everything; the apps, the games, the programming, the camera. He mentally compared it to his Shell-cells and found he was disappointed. It was true, it had been a long time since he even considered upgrades for his own design and compared to the T-phone, it felt... lacking. Donnie knew that the Shell-cells were far more difficult to use than the gorgeous piece of technology he was currently inspecting but he had deliberately designed them so. He had wanted it to be difficult for just anyone to use. If anyone else found one, or took one, they would hopefully dismiss it almost instantly as 'junk', particularly if they were not able to use it.

After hacking into the T-phone's programming, Donnie found it rather easy to tie it into his own Shell-cell network. Programming wise, the two weren't really that much different, something he was pleased about since he didn't want to make the T-phone unable to reconnect to its usual network when the opportunity invariably arose.

Donnie then set about adding useful phone numbers to Michelangelo's T-phone, his, Leo's, Raph's, April's and Casey's. After each name, he added an (S) for Shell-cell to distinguish the names from the other dimensional counterparts, despite acknowledging that there were pictures attached to each name, in some cases, April and Casey's, a photo. Noticing that made Donnie immensely curious and he just couldn't help but indulge in that curiosity. He very quickly found himself browsing through the various photos saved into the album. One picture in particular, he felt drawn to and he sat there for several minutes, studying it with great interest.

It was a group photo. Michelangelo and his brothers with whom he assumed must be Splinter and April. Staring at the photo, Donatello realised just _how_ different they all were. It wasn't just Michelangelo. All the brothers were truly unique from each other. Donnie gawked in wonder at the _tall_, lanky form of his own counterpart, thoroughly intrigued; and was that a gap in his teeth? His doppelganger, though tall, still looked short when compared to the younger but still wise looking Splinter who had multiple colours throughout his fur. No wonder Michelangelo had appeared so shocked upon witnessing their much shorter, older and greyer Sensei.

And April, she looked so young! She couldn't have been much older than Michelangelo. She was posed with one arm around the embarrassed but ecstatic looking other Donatello and holding a tessen in her other hand, splayed out in front of her chest, proudly showing off the crest within its centre.

Raphael wore a devil-may-care smirk that filled his features, one fist buried in the palm of his other hand mock threateningly as he gazed towards a mischievously grinning Michelangelo, who could be seen holding a water balloon half hidden in his hand and looking sideways towards Leonardo. Leonardo was standing slightly off from the rest of the group in a cheesy looking pose which could almost have come from a certain ship's captain in 'Star Trek', if Donatello didn't know better.

All six within the photograph looked happy and Donnie wondered who it was that actually took the picture. He sent a copy of the photo to his e-mail address, telling himself it was a test to make certain the T-phone truly worked with their network and made a mental note to print out a copy of it to give to Michelangelo so he could have a hard copy handy to look at at any time.

Donnie noticed the T-phone had finally finished charging; it certainly had a beautifully fast charge rate. He unplugged it and stood up, fully intending to go hand it back it their visitor when he once more glanced down at the photo full of happy, smiling faces and suddenly felt an intense, overwhelming sadness crash down into him.

Donatello fell back into his wheeled office chair, unconsciously dropping the T-phone as tears sprang unwelcome into his vision and his heart ached terribly.

He remembered when his family had been happy and whole like the family in that picture, when Mikey was still with them.

Before that horrible night six months ago when it felt as though they lost everything.

The worst night of their lives and it had all been _his_ fault...

\- . - . -

To be continued.


	9. Chapter 8

Series: TMNT

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall story - little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: "You're already hurtin' 'em, There's already been enough loss as it is." The stranger glared in obvious trepidation. Reeling from loss, hope will be found in an unexpected form. No OC's. Set: Canon 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. Canon 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'

AN: Thanks all of you who have commented in the last couple of weeks or so, it means a lot to me and has seriously made me feel better about this story than I had been feeling :-)

**And One to Grow On**

Ch – 8

He remembered when his family had been happy and whole like the family in that picture, when Mikey was still with them.

Before that horrible night when it felt like they had lost everything.

The worst night of their lives and it had all been _his_ fault...

"_Donnie!" The voice barely breaks through his concentration but his eyes glance towards the source of the voice. Mikey is rushing at him, practically on top of him and he doesn't immediately fathom why, his mind is still elsewhere, focused intently on his task. "_**Move**_!" _

_He finds himself suddenly tumbling, disoriented as his younger brother barrels into him, shoving him forcefully away from where he stood at the computer bank._

_The immediate drawn out, blood-curdling screams fill his every sense, drowning everything else out. It is an unnerving sound filled with pure agony and with a dreadful chill, he realises it is Michelangelo's voice he is hearing. He looks up, seeing his brother where he stood only moments before and he's caught in the throes of some kind of directed energy beam, different to the ones previously flying about._

Distraught and breathing heavily, Donatello forced his eyes open and pushed away the overwhelming, terrible memory with considerable effort. Minutes later, he stumbled to his feet and grabbed the T-phone from where he had dropped it what felt like hours earlier; intending to go return the device to its owner. He couldn't look at it any longer. He didn't want to see the sight of those happy faces anymore. It reminded him far too much of what he and his family had lost.

Donatello stopped before the door leading out of his lab to gather his composure and leaned heavily against it; it wouldn't do to let anyone see him this way. After a few more minutes, he was finally able to slip his calm mask back onto his face and body, hoping no one would notice any slight shakiness that he may or may not still be exhibiting and opened the door to leave.

He glanced towards the wall of televisions as he made his way through their home, noticing Master Splinter's soap coming to its melodramatic conclusion for the day and realised Michelangelo wasn't there so he headed straight for the kitchen, hoping the orange banded turtle would still be in there so he wouldn't have to go looking for him.

When Donatello entered the food prep area, he saw the other-dimensional turtle standing in front of the oven, tapping his three-toed foot impatiently while waiting for the delicious smelling food inside to finish cooking. Donnie took a deep, appreciative breath, inhaling the aroma of a home made meal, rather than the usual freezer or slap-dash efforts from the last several months. "Mmm, that smells good, Michelangelo."

Michelangelo turned with a smile, "You guys didn't have any pizza left but I found enough ingredients to make some, though you only had boring stuff for the topping," he shrugged lightly, smile still firmly in place, "so we'll just have to settle for pepperoni, mushrooms, olives and pineapple." Michelangelo turned back to face the oven again, "Ten minutes to go. Man! This is taking all year and I'm starved!"

Despite himself and the melancholy still afflicting him, Donatello couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the younger turtle, "Well, in the meantime, I have your T-phone charged up and already working on my network. Until I have time to get parts to make a specific charging unit for your phone, you will just have to bring it to me whenever you need it charged." Donnie smiled as Michelangelo's eyes practically lit up in excitement.

"Awesome! Thanks dude!" Michelangelo hurriedly grabbed the proffered T-phone, unlocking it and scrolling quickly though the contacts list. He frowned momentarily as he noticed double the usual listings but shrugged, looking instead for the Captain Ryan avatar that symbolised Leo and dialled, holding the phone to his ear slit. He frowned again at the lack of ringing. "Um... Donnie?" He asked moments later, "Not to doubt you or anything, dude, but I thought you said you got it working?"

"I did." Donnie raised his eyebrow ridges, suddenly dreading the answer to the question he knew he just had to ask. "Who are you trying to call?"

"Leo of course."

"... Your Leo or mine?"

Michelangelo gave Donnie a weird look, "Why would I try to phone your Leo? I can just open my mouth and yell for him."

Donnie sighed, somehow managing not to face-palm. 'That's what I was afraid of...' he thought morosely. "You can't ring your brothers, Michelangelo. You are in a different dimension to them, remember?"

"Yeah, I know that dude, but you said my T-phone works now so why can't I at least call them with it?"

"It... doesn't work like that. You would need an open portal or crack between the dimensions for that." Donnie explained as patiently as he could. "And if we had that, we could get you home already."

"Oh... then... what was the point of fixing my T-phone?" Michelangelo asked in sad confusion, though he flipped deftly through the menus within the device, eyes searching keenly as he spoke. His face relaxed as he found whatever he was looking for and he gently touched the screen with a single, thick finger.

Donnie closed his eyes briefly, drawing deep on the wells of his inner strength. "Well, now that your T-phone is on the network, you can call people here if you need to."

Michelangelo glanced up from the screen at Donnie.

"I've taken the liberty to add our phone numbers to your contacts in case you need to call any of us. I marked them with a bracketed S after the names so you can easily tell the difference. S stands for Shell-cell." Donnie explained.

Michelangelo's eyes widened and a true smile split his face. He quickly stepped forward, throwing his arms around Donnie in a sudden, affectionate embrace. "Thanks Donnie! You're awesome!"

Donatello stood stiffly. He hadn't expected this reaction and he really wasn't sure if he liked it or not. It was a long time since the last hug he had received and the last hug had been from...

Without realising what he was doing, Donnie pushed Michelangelo away, hurriedly stepping back out of immediate reach of the younger turtle, then he stopped, registering the hurt that flowed onto Michelangelo's face. Donnie brought his hand up to his own face, roughly scrubbing at it. "I'm... sorry, Michelangelo... I..." Then Donnie turned, unable to keep talking and rushed off, out of the kitchen and stumbled back to his lab.

He really needed to be alone right now.

\- . - . -

Mikey stood watching Donatello as the purple attired turtle rushed away from him as if he were an infectious disease or something. He couldn't understand why Donnie had pushed him away like that and it really hurt. Mikey had thought things were starting to get better. Yeah, sure, he was still a stranger here but Donnie had been the most welcoming, going out of his way to help him and so he hugged him. It was instinct! What was so wrong about that? Mikey knew that back home he was the most affectionate in his family and his bros weren't really the touchy feely types but they never seemed to mind that much when he hugged them, other than a brief protest on principle, of course. Not even Raph, as long as no one else was around to see and Mikey didn't hug for too long at a time.

As Mikey stood miserably staring at the door Donatello had left through, Leo entered, having just come down from upstairs. He was surprised to see Michelangelo like this with the oven alarm insistently beeping away behind him, unnoticed.

Leo stepped close, reaching up a hand as if to touch Michelangelo's shoulder before dropping it again, unwilling to actually reach out if he could avoid it. "Are you alright, Michelangelo?"

"Huh? Uh... yeah, I'm fine, dude." Mikey suddenly blinked as he registered Leo's presence and question.

"Really? Only you seem to be staring at nothing and the oven timer is going off." Leo felt sure he would have been amused by the situation had the visiting turtle not seemed so visibly upset.

"It is? Oh, it is!" Mikey whirled around, moving quickly to turn off the alarm and oven before the pizzas burned.

"What's wrong, Michelangelo?" Leo asked firmly in his leader voice.

Mikey sighed as he carefully removed the pizzas, "It's Donnie. I just can't seem to do or say anything right and I upset your bro. Again. I'm sorry..."

"Tell me."

Leo watched as Michelangelo placed the two pizzas on a cutting board that was waiting ready on the nearby bench before sitting down at the table, no longer hungry. He listened intently, nodding as Michelangelo told him what happened.

At the end, Leo sighed, steeling himself, "Don... he took our brother's... disappearance hard. We all did, really but Don took it the hardest." He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes in pain, "One way or another, we all blame ourselves but Donnie was the one who was with him when what happened... happened. It's true... that in all these months since, we haven't talked to each other much or even been there for each other..." At this, Leonardo looked ashamed. "Things finally started getting better in the last few days though, ever since Raph saw you and Master Splinter put his foot down about our self-destructive behaviour; the way we were treating each other and ourselves... but you, you being here _is_ hard, I cannot deny that. It's like the wounds are fresh all over again." Leonardo opened his eyes again, looking Michelangelo directly in the eyes.

"And before you say anything, _no_, we don't want you to leave but you _need_ to give us..." Leo paused briefly, as if struggling to find the right word, "... space."

Mikey nodded silently, fiddling with his fingers and looking down at the table he was sitting at; anywhere but Leo's eyes.

"We are just starting to to get used to each other again and now we are asked to get used to another on top of that, who both is and _isn't_ our brother." Leo breathed deeply. "Look, um... Michelangelo, I'm sorry but I really don't want to keep talking about all this right now. It's just too much."

"It's cool, Leo. I kinda get it." Mikey looked back up at Leonardo, his eyes clear, sympathetic and understanding all at once yet completely without pity.

Leo gave the tiniest of smiles and took another deep, calming breath. "Why don't we eat lunch now, I would hate for your hard work cooking to go to waste. I'll take Don's to him as I'm sure he won't be ready to come out yet."

Leonardo had been correct, Donnie wouldn't come out of his lab, nor did he unlock the door so Leo just left the food covered up beside the door. After lunch was over and Splinter had left for his meditation mat, Mikey turned back to Leo.

"So what do I do now, Leo?" He looked around helplessly at the lair that was not his home. "I can't even leave the lair to go skating, you said it's alarmed and I'm really good at setting those off." Mikey said with a self deprecating wince.

Leo chuckled briefly, for just a moment reminded of better times, "How about we finish that tour we started last night?"

"Sounds good, dude." Mikey smiled.

"Later on, we'll show you how to use the alarm system to get in and out but it will have to wait until Don makes time to set the system to recognise you."

\- . - . -

Leonardo finished showing Mikey around the huge once pumping station-now lair, ending in front of a door to a room. Mikey noticed Leo seemed extremely uncomfortable again but after a slight hesitation and steeling of himself, Leo spoke up, "This was Mikey's room... where you can stay while you are here. I just finished freshening it for you before lunch."

Somehow this seemed really wrong to Mikey and he could see Leo also felt that way; worse, he couldn't help but remember back to the previous night.

"_He ain't takin' Mikey's room!" Raph snarled, aggressively motioning in Michelangelo's direction. "He can sleep on the couch or on the floor for all I care or just shove him in the infirmary but he ain't havin' our brother's room!"_

"_Probably best not to argue with Raph tonight." Donnie sighed._

Mikey bit his lip a moment before asking, "Are you sure it's okay?"

"Yes, it's fine. Under the circumstances, I know Mikey would have wanted you to use it, besides, Master Splinter said you were to sleep here. Just ignore Raph if he makes a scene about it. You can always come to me if he gets too obnoxious about things." Leo seemed to mentally fortify himself once more before reaching out a hand to twist the door handle, opening the door. "You can use or read anything in here, Michelangelo, just... be careful with our brother's things. Okay?"

Mikey's eyes widened as he took in the sight of piles of comics, games, action figures and a skateboard. His gaze wandered the walls, taking in the view of dozens of myriad posters, mostly of old horror movies with a couple of band and superhero posters thrown in for good measure. All had seen betters days but three of the four walls were covered lovingly, leaving nary an inch to spare. The fourth wall however, was different. It had what looked like a half finished mural painted onto it. The whole scene was drawn out painstakingly in pencil, with bits and pieces filled in with various bright colours. "Sure, I'll do my best to be careful," he promised, hoping like hell he could live up to his word. After all, Mikey knew he didn't have the best track record when it came to other people's things.

"Michelangelo?"

"Yeah, Leo?"

"You might be stuck here for a while..." Leo started. Mikey's gaze fell to the floor at the thought but Leo continued, "... but we _will_ get you home eventually. Trust me on this, trust _Don_ on this."

"I know dude, if anyone can help me get home, Donnie can." Of that, Mikey had absolutely no doubts. If this Donnie was even half as determined as his Donnie, he knew he would come through for him sooner or later.

Leo smiled at the sheer conviction of faith shining through Michelangelo's very being. "In the meantime, treat our home as if it were yours. If you need anything and are unsure, just ask." Leo turned to leave, "I'm going to go meditate in my room now."

"Which room was yours again?" Mikey asked, screwing his face up as he tried to remember from the night before.

Motioning for Michelangelo to step outside the room, Leo pointed to a door two rooms down before walking there and going inside.

Mikey watched until Leo closed his door behind himself. For a moment, he felt the loneliness and homesickness creep into his soul once more but forced himself to turn and gaze into the room he was to use which belonged to his lost counterpart. Catching sight of the piles of comics again, he felt his curiosity and excitement build until he was able to forget his troubles for the moment. He ran lightly over to the nearest pile and started flicking through it, eyes growing large like saucers as he took in the sight of unfamiliar titles like 'Silver Sentry', 'Justice Force' and 'Nobody'; they were all very different from the horror and sci-fi comics he owned back home. Picking up an issue whose cover particularly caught his eye, 'Silver Sentry Meets the Turtle Titan', Mikey flopped down onto the freshly made bed and started reading eagerly.

\- . - . -

After Raphael stormed out at breakfast that morning, he had kicked around the sewers for a couple of hours, trying to calm down and get his emotions under some semblance of control again. Having to eat breakfast with that fake Mikey at the same table had been hard enough but hearing Splinter encouraging him to take their little brother's place had made Raph furious.

Mikey _wasn't_ replaceable and it felt to him that that was what Splinter was trying to do, to replace the hero that was their lost, little brother.

He wanted to lash out in blind rage so badly; taking everything he had to prevent himself from doing just that, that it physically hurt and then to make it all worse, Donnie... Don of _all_ turtles, actually supported their Sensei. He had tried to guilt Raph, to make him feel sympathy for the 'poor, little, lost pretender' turtle, then to exacerbate matters even more, as if that had even been possible, Donnie had almost succeeded. If Raph had stayed in close proximity to... 'Michelangelo' for much longer, he knew he couldn't have remained in control.

So he left.

After he calmed down sufficiently, Raphael headed to hang out at Casey's, not wanting to face home any time soon. Unfortunately for him, his friend was out at work so instead, Raph hung around in the decrepit apartment by himself, watching television and waiting for Case to return home.

Casey had been surprised to see Raph, especially since it had to have been broad daylight when the red masked turtle entered his apartment but he didn't mind, he never did. Instead, Casey sat down passing Raph a beer and listening to Raphael rant and rave as he complained about all that had happened since the previous night.

To say the least, Casey was curious. Once evening came, he convinced Raph to return home, Casey in tow, for 'moral support' of course. Raph hadn't been fooled but he welcomed his friend's presence regardless.

The lair was silent when Raph and Casey returned; the lights all ablaze and no one in sight. Raph walked over to Donnie's lab, noting the covered plate on the ground beside the door and tried to walk in, only to find the door locked. He hammered loudly on it, calling out to his brother to unlock the damn thing. Moments later, the door opened to a tired, washed out looking Donatello who looked expectantly at him. "What Raph?"

Raph eyed Donatello critically, "You look like crap."

With a dry, humourless chuckle, Donnie replied, "Just what I needed to know. Now, what do you want?

"Hi Don." Casey waved from behind Raph.

Donnie glanced toward Casey muttering a reply before turning back to his brother and raising his eyebrow ridges, waiting.

"Where's the little imposter?"

Donatello sighed, "He is _not_ an imposter, Raph. He's Mik... Michelangelo. Just not the one we knew." He turned around, heading back into the dark depths of his laboratory. "He's probably in Mikey's room. Leo cleaned it up for him to use after training finished; which you would know if you hadn't bailed on us."

Raphael growled angrily at the news.

"Raph, there is no where else for him. It's not like we have spare rooms or beds set up for guests to use."

"How can you even be so sure he's who he's claimin' to be? Have you done any of your 'science' tests yet?" Raph challenged.

"I don't need to, not for that reason anyway. It doesn't matter what he looks like, Raph, just listening to him, he feels like Michelangelo just... different. I can't explain it, Raph," Donnie said heavily, "it's not my domain, but Leo or Master Splinter possibly could. Even Sensei knew who he was with only a few minutes interaction."

"Let me ask you somethin', Don, if you're so sure of who he is and so set on helpin' him, why the _shell_ were you locked away in here?" Raph gestured angrily around the work space, "with what is obviously lunch, untouched, on the ground outside?"

Donatello stiffened, glancing at the ground by the door. He didn't see anything though as the tray was to the side of it. "I would rather not talk about it." Raph gave him a triumphant look so Donnie added mordantly, "especially not to you."

Raph's face darkened again, "So the damn imposter is gettin' to you too, huh?"

"He's not..." Donnie began exasperated, "Oh, what's the point? You are obviously not in a mood to listen to anything anyone else has to say anyway so I see no reason to continue to try. Just... just give me your Shell-cell for a minute."

"That's so typical of you, givin' up so easily." Raph sneered as he fished his phone from his belt and held it out.

Donnie gave him a dirty look as he took the proffered device and quickly programmed Michelangelo's number into the contacts list. "Some of us at least know _when_ to fight and _when_ to quit."

When he was done, Raph practically snatched the phone back to see what Donnie had done. He felt his ire quickly rise once more.

"Leave that number in there, you never know when you might need it, Raph."

Raphael scowled contemptuously at the number, contemplating ignoring Donnie but thought better of it. Don didn't get mad easily but when he did, he was not to be trifled with. Besides, if need be, he could always use the number to keep tabs on the owner's whereabouts. However, Raph thought quickly and renamed the entry to 'Imposter'.

Donatello carefully watched Raph and rolled his eyes at the small but not unexpected rebellion. "Casey, I hope you don't mind but I also took the liberty of giving yours and April's numbers to Michelangelo just in case he needs to get a hold of you for any reason," he said, turning his head towards their friend.

"Yeah, that's fine, Don." Casey handed his phone to Donnie, waiting as the turtle added the number.

"Are you staying a while, Casey?"

"Yeah, I'm curious and wanna meet 'im." Casey nodded, taking his phone back from Donnie.

Donatello smiled tiredly, "Then I'll call April over too and see if she'll bring take out." He turned back to Raph, "Once I'm done, I'll go get Michelangelo. I think we would all rather it wasn't you getting him."

"Whatever!" Raph said acidly. "Come on, Case, pretty sure there's a game or somethin' on we can watch while waitin' for Don to get the imposter."

Casey turned a sympathetic look to Donnie, who was already calling April, before following Raph to the entertainment room.

After arranging things with his friend and giving her a brief explanation, Donnie headed to Mikey's room, stopping by Leo's to let him know what was going on and conveniently ignoring his comment of being glad to see Donnie 'out with the living' once more.

Donatello knocked on Mikey's door and waited for a response but none came. After knocking a second time with no reply, he opened the door, not entirely surprised to see Michelangelo as flat on his back as his shell would allow, head and one arm flopped off the side of the bed, one leg dangling off the other side and several comics scattered all around the bed, one of which was open on top of his plastron.

Donnie stared in silence, for a horrible moment seeing Mikey superimposed over the top of the sleeping Michelangelo. He swallowed back the lump in his throat and blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears that threatened. He was tempted to instead get Leo to wake him but Donnie couldn't do that to his older brother. After all, what had happened that night wasn't _Leo's_ fault.

Marching determinately over to Michelangelo, Donnie took note of the comics; all 'Silver Sentry'. He picked them all off the bed, lingering on the issue that featured his brother. Gently, he touched the cover; of course he had known all about 'The Turtle Titan'. Mikey never could keep a secret about himself from his brothers, especially when he was so excited about it, however, Donnie had never known there was a comic too. Briefly, he wondered if Leo had known but he doubted it. There would have been 'words' if he had known.

Donnie carefully put the brightly coloured books down on the bedside table before turning back to the gently snoring turtle splayed out on the bed. If he was anything like his brother, then he would probably need to be shaken awake, Donnie realised. 'Better just get this over with,' he thought despondently.

He reached out, grabbing hold of Michelangelo's shoulder and shaking it said, "It's time to wake up, Michelangelo."

Michelangelo started, flailing about and rising to a sudden seated position with a vague yelp. Blinking, he turned to look up at Donnie. "What?" he asked in sleepy confusion.

"You fell asleep reading." Donnie responded, slightly amused despite himself. He watched as Michelangelo looked wildly around the bed. "The comics are there, if that is what you are looking for." Donnie pointed them out, noting the relief presenting itself over the other turtle's face.

"When you are ready, come downstairs. Casey is here and wants to meet you and April is on her way over with dinner." With that, Donnie turned and left, barely hearing Michelangelo's positive response as he exited.

With the door firmly closed behind him, Donnie leaned against the nearest wall, eyes closed and breathing deeply and evenly in an effort to centre himself once more. He hadn't realised when he encouraged his brothers to accept Michelangelo's presence just how hard this would be. It was the perfect punishment for what he had done, he thought bitterly; prior to pushing himself away from the wall and walking downstairs before Michelangelo could leave the room and catch him there.

Donatello was completely unaware of a concerned Leonardo watching him quietly from his slightly cracked open door.

To be continued


	10. Chapter 9

Series: TMNT

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: "You're already hurtin' 'em, There's already been enough loss as it is." The stranger glared in obvious trepidation. Reeling from loss, hope will be found in an unexpected form. No OC's. Set: Canon 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. Canon 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'

AN: Just a reminder, due to a comment someone made from the previous chapter, despite the number of chapters, less than a day has passed since the guys found 2k12 Mikey and brought him home. Also, my laptop is coming to the end of its 3 year warranty and has... issues with a couple of the keys making me need to press them extra hard and several times at times. I am sending it off to get fixed before the warranty is up and it could be gone a few weeks so not sure when the next chapter will be out. Sorry in advance. You can thank my laziness, tiredness and procrastination for the lateness of this particular chapter. Thank you for all the comments and favourites, it really helps to inspire and makes my day :-)

**And One to Grow On**

Ch – 9

When Michelangelo came downstairs a few minutes later, Leo, Donnie, Raph and Casey were seated around the wall of televisions. The latter two loudly egging on their team from the game that was playing; Leo and Donnie couldn't have looked less interested if they tried. In fact, neither one even looked like they really wanted to be there at all. Leo was the first to notice Mikey's presence, though for the life of him, Mikey had no idea how Leo could possibly have heard him over the raucous noise of the match and the two yelling fans.

"Did you sleep well?" Leo inquired, trying to sound interested as Mikey drew closer.

Mikey nodded, "Dunno why I fell asleep though, was just so tired all of a sudden."

"You've had a hard week. It probably just all caught up to you at once now that you are safe." Leo replied with Donnie nodding in agreement beside him.

"Probably..." Mikey's gaze drifted off to the left of Leo and Donnie. By now, Raph and Casey also noticed him and had turned to face him. Raph's eyes were narrowed in distrust and a touch of hatred and Casey's had widened in surprise. Mikey canted his head slightly as he stared back at the human. Like his 'brothers', Casey was not what he expected. At all. For a start, he was so tall, his hair was completely wild and "How'd you get so old, Case-man?" Mikey couldn't help but blurt out. "You look old enough to be your own dad!"

"Wh... what?" Casey spluttered. "I'm not old! I'm..."

"Hey!" Mikey grinned in sudden realisation as he inadvertently interrupted Casey. He ran over and somersaulted to land smack dab in front of the man. "You've even still got all your teeth! Amazing!" His eyes widened in sudden thought and without thinking about what he was doing, Mikey reached out a finger, prodding Casey in the mouth, "Or are they falsies?"

"_What?_" Casey cried out in indignant shock. "Stop that!" He slapped Mikey's hand away from his face. "Seriously, dude, who _does _that?" He took a quick step backwards from the exuberant turtle and a sound like a snort of amusement caught his ear. Casey turned to glare at the nearby smirking Raph. "Glad you think it's so amusin', shell-fer-brains."

Upon realising Michelangelo had also turned attention his way, Raph hurriedly covered up his amusement with his customary scowl. "Yer own fault for tryin' to be friendly to a damn imposter. Can't say I didn't warn you, bonehead!"

"Aww, it's not that bad, just looks like he's got a warped sense a humour too, that's all." Casey retorted, noticing Raph and Mikey's 'interaction'. He turned back to Mikey, "Seriously though, boundaries, okay?"

Mikey nodded miserably, backing away. Without meaning to, he done it again, he realised. He didn't notice the vague and mostly hidden looks of amusement on Leo and Donnie's faces. He bumped into the railing of the stairs leading up to the next level and stopped abruptly.

"Hey guys!" An unfamiliar, feminine voice called out cheerfully.

Mikey turned his head, seeing a five foot seven, red-headed woman in trousers and a short tight top with her midriff exposed closing the door behind her and juggling several full plastic bags. Casey was by her side in seconds, taking the load from her hands and smiling goofily. "Hi babe."

She shook her head amused, and walked past him. She looked around until her gaze caught sight and settled on Mikey before walking directly over and smiling warmly in greeting.

"Hello, you must be Michelangelo. Don told me on the phone how you were stuck here. I'm April." She laughed slightly nervously, "Sorry, I guess you probably knew that already but honestly, if I hadn't been told about you already, I would never have recognised you."

Mikey smiled back, feeling better again thanks to her friendliness. "It's cool, D said you were coming over, April but I didn't recognise you either." He shook his head, unable to prevent a confused look crossing his face. "No one here looks the same. You're all so weird looking." Mikey paused a moment before adding, "and old!"

April looked aghast and asked faintly, "How... how old do you think I am?"

Mikey tilted his head curiously as he thought. He'd never been asked that question before, nor had reason to consider how old people 'looked'. Unaware of the potential danger he unintentionally flirted with, he shrugged, "I dunno, maybe forty?"

"For... forty?" April squeaked in shock. "I'm twenty nine! How could you think I'm _forty_?" She turned wildly around to face the amused foursome near the televisions. Raph and Casey were openly snickering, not even trying to contain their mirth. Leo and Donnie were at least trying. "You guys don't think I look forty, do you?"

When there was no immediate reply other than more laughter, April repeated in a dangerous tone that chilled everyone in the room to the bone, "Do you?" Her usually sweet voice dripped with menace.

"No... of course not, babe!" Casey was fast to respond. Leo and Donnie shook their heads rapidly in denial, all traces of amusement suddenly vanished, like ninja in the night. April levelled her death gaze at Raph and Casey quickly elbowed his friend in the side.

"You don't look a day over twenty, Ape!"

April's expression cleared a little and she turned back to the suddenly nervous Mikey. "What on _earth_ makes you think I am _forty_? Seriously?"

"Um..." Mikey shrugged again, "I don't really know many humans?" He grinned sheepishly, "Only you, your dad, Murakami-san and Master Splinter's photo from before? The bad guys don't count."

Leonardo's gaze at Mikey suddenly turned sharp and he opened his mouth as if to speak.

"Wait.. my dad? He's alive in your world?" April asked, her voice suddenly soft in surprise and wonder, "and you know him?"

"Well, yeah! He lived with us for a couple of weeks after we saved him from the Kraang."

"I haven't seen him since I was..." April shook her head as she trailed off.

"Imposter can't even get his story right!" Raph snidely remarked.

Mikey whirled to face Raph's direction. "I'm not making it up! It's true!" he retorted, hurt filling his face and voice.

"It doesn't matter, we should all go eat before the food gets cold." April said, quickly diffusing the situation as she started moving towards the kitchen. Mikey followed close behind.

"I'll go get Master Splinter." Leo offered as he and the rest also began to follow.

April fished out the plastic take-out containers from the bags Casey had dumped on the bench. She spread them over the table while Donnie got the plates and cutlery.

Mikey stared curiously at the food in the containers, reaching out a finger to poke at the nearest and his hand was lightly slapped away. "What's this stuff?"

"Chinese. Haven't you had it before?"

"Nope! Only pizza and..."

"Trust me," Donnie hurriedly interjected, "you don't want to know!" Noticing Mikey was about to continue regardless, Donatello hurriedly thought and asked, "Who is Murakami-san?"

Suddenly successfully distracted, Mikey beamed, "He's the owner and chef of this awesome Japanese restaurant that April took us to! After we saved him, he invented gyoza for us!"

As Leo and Splinter entered the dining area and sat down, Donnie shook his head, "That's not possible, Michelangelo. Gyoza has been around for decades and has its origins nearly two thousand years ago in China as jiaozi."

"They had pizza gyoza around back then?" Mikey's eyes were wide with wonder.

"Um... not really..."

Conversation continued throughout the meal, until finally April expressed interest wondering what their counterparts looked like.

"They look normal." Mikey blinked, confused at the question. "Not like you guys."

Donnie snapped his fingers, remembering the picture he had spent much of the day trying to put out of his mind. "Why don't you show that group photo from your T-phone?" At Michelangelo's obvious confusion, Donnie added explaining, "I saw it earlier when I was setting your T-phone to work with our network."

"Oh!" Mikey dug out the phone from his belt, deftly searching the menus for the photo before handing it straight to Donatello.

Donnie gingerly took the phone, refusing to actually look at it again and passed it straight on quickly enough to earn a sharp glance from Leo.

"April got Casey to take that photo a couple weeks back, just after we met him. Then she sent it to the rest of us." Mikey explained as the phone made its rounds.

"Do you have a picture of me too?" Casey asked, passing the phone on.

"Nuh, only just met Casey and he's more Raph and April's friend." Mikey shook his head.

Still avoiding looking towards the T-phone, Donnie spoke up softly, "Casey's caller I.D. photo."

"Oh yeah! That's right!" Mikey exclaimed, snatching the phone back from Leo and searching it up. With a grin and a flourish, he passed the T-phone back to Casey.

Casey's eyebrows rose and he whistled. "No wonder you think me and Ape are old."

April turned to Casey, mock indignation filling her features and slapped him on his nearest arm. "Casey Jones! You watch your mouth!"

A couple of hours later as April and Casey were about to leave, Casey tossed a mischievous grin in Raph's direction before turning to Mikey and asking, "So Mikey, are you the Battle Nexus Champion in yer world too?"

"Is that a video game?"

\- . - . -

Donatello had finished programming the lair's security system to recognise and accept Michelangelo and had thus far shown him three times how to unlock and open the doors from each side. He closed his eyes as he rubbed his temples, feeling a headache starting to come on strongly and contemplated going for coffee and headache pills. Suppressing a sigh, Donnie spoke up, trying to keep the strain in his voice hidden. "For the next few times when you go in or out, come and get Leo or myself to help you. Once you actually do it a couple of times, you'll find it easy enough to operate."

"Says you, Donnie but okay." Mikey nodded. "Why does it have to be so complicated anyway?"

"Because we have had our lair found and attacked before. This is our third home in nearly five years. We'd like to avoid being found and forced to find yet another home." Donnie explained, remembering how much of a pain the whole ordeal was; having to find a new habitable place that was appropriate enough to turn into a home and trying to salvage as much as possible from previous domiciles. Not to mention just plain having to replace most of their belongings in the first place and doing all the work just to make it liveable. He shook his head, remembering how much trouble he had had with the electricity alone in this place. "Suitable locations for a home within the sewers are far and few between."

"Oh, makes sense..." Mikey said quietly.

Donnie turned and saw Raph lounging over near the televisions. One of them was on but the volume was silent as Raph stared, barely paying any attention to the game. This time of night it was probably only a replay anyway, Donnie mused. He walked towards his brother, clearing his throat a little to announce his presence, not that he actually needed to, Donnie realised as Raph turned his head at his approach. "Any idea where Leo has disappeared to? I thought we were leaving soon."

Grunting, Raph shot a quick scowl in Michelangelo's direction as the other-dimensional turtle followed Donnie over, looking as though there were many places he would rather be right now. "Fearless went to talk to Master Splinter about somethin' just after Case and Ape left."

Donnie hadn't heard anything about that and his curiosity was peaked. "Any idea what about?"

Raph's eyes narrowed in annoyance, "No reason he'd bother to tell me anythin'"

Leo coughed lightly, letting Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo know he was there as he otherwise approached them silently. "I wasn't keeping anything from anyone, Raph. I just didn't want to get anyone's hopes up unnecessarily."

The other three trained their eyes on Leonardo. "Hopes 'bout what?" Raph asked.

"Well... after talking to Master Splinter, I have both good news and bad news." Leo explained cautiously. "Casey's question earlier made me think of an option to help Michelangelo that was staring us in the face all along." He nodded towards Mikey and the younger turtle's eyes widened with hope even as his heartbeat sped up in excitement.

"Which question? He and April asked quite a number of them." Donnie ventured, remembering back to their friends' curiosity, curiosity he had to admit he shared. Honestly though, while he wanted to ask all the questions in the world, or at least those he felt he might get a coherent answer to, it was just too much for him to be near Michelangelo for too long at a time without other distractions keeping him grounded.

"About the Battle Nexus."

Donnie's eyes widened as he suddenly realised. "Of course! The Daimyo!"

Leo nodded. "The good news is that Master Splinter believes the Daimyo would be willing to help Michelangelo."

"And the bad?"

Leonardo sighed, "The borders of the Battle Nexus are closed currently and they will remain closed until the next tournament is ready to begin in nine and a half months time." Leo explained. "Apparently they seal off the way there around a year beforehand to all outsiders to give them plenty of time to prepare, reshape and rebuild many of the arenas and environments to keep it fresh."

"So I'm stuck here for _months_?" Mikey asked in disbelief.

"_Great_! We have to put up with... _him_ for _that_ long?"

"It's the worst case scenario. Don might still find another way to get him home sooner." Leo placated before turning to face Michelangelo. "But this does mean you will _definitely_ get home. This is a good thing; and Don won't have to kill himself trying to find a way to get you there."

Mikey nodded but his eyes moved to land briefly on Raph. It was good news but... he was going to be separated from those he loved for what felt like forever, not to mention to be stuck in hostile company. He missed his Raph so much... he was harsh and mean a lot but he cared, deeply. He didn't often let it show, especially in company but he always did when it was needed the most and Mikey could almost always tell regardless.

Leo looked around at both his brothers and Michelangelo. "If everyone is ready, let's go get this over and done with. Michelangelo, leave the skateboard behind." Leo commanded, noticing the wheeled ride tucked into the back of Michelangelo's belt.

"Do I have to? I'm really fast with it," Mikey explained, then added cheekily, "you guys couldn't even keep up with me."

"You're damn noisy with it too." Raph growled.

"You already know how I feel about this subject, Michelangelo. This is a mission. Leave it behind or tell us where to go and stay behind in the lair." Leo said sternly. "I will not jeopardise the mission, or the team, because you want to play. Your choice."

"It's not about playing..." Mikey muttered grumbling, "it's useful and Master Splinter's always saying anything can be a weapon but fine, I'll leave it." He placed the skateboard leaning against the wall by the door and the four turtles promptly left.

Leo led the way out of the sewers, coming up to the surface close to Central Park so as to give Mikey easy knowledge of where the lair was located. Mikey glanced around, getting his bearings quickly and pointing out the direction to the abandoned warehouse that had been a Kraang facility back home. After almost an hour they arrived, having stopped twice to foil a couple of random muggings they happened across.

Mikey went straight to one of the skylights which was smashed open, lined with jagged and dirty glass around the edges of the frame. "This is where we entered back home," he pointed out and moved to enter, only to be stopped by Leonardo who insisted on going in first just in case there was anyone hidden inside.

"Dude, there was no one here at all when I was here before." Mikey protested, though he stepped aside to allow Leo access regardless.

"That's as maybe but that was over a week ago. Anything could have changed in the meantime. Someone could have moved in since for all we know or even have just been out that particular night." Leo murmured quietly. "Also, keep your voice down, we are ninja and we have a job to do. The last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves tonight."

Mikey swallowed hard, feeling chastised as he noticed Raph smirking maliciously at him out of the corner of his eye. He didn't let on that he noticed however.

Once they were inside the dusty and filthy old warehouse, the four turtles split into pairs and quickly canvassed the building. Leo kept Michelangelo with him while Raph and Donnie went off together, however no signs of life were found other than the usual evidence of pests. When they met up again about three quarters of a hour later, certain the place was empty, Mikey showed the other three where he and his brothers had had that battle and the small room he had entered before everything inexplicably changed. Donatello removed some scanning equipment from his ever-present duffel and began using it to try to find any unusual energy readings that he may be able to work with.

The longer they were there, the more uncomfortable and edgy Mikey felt. He really hated this place, this room especially. The memories and feelings of that night were coming back in full force, bubbling to the surface of his mind; his loneliness, his confusion over what had happened, why his brothers had seemingly abandoned him, even though he knew they would _never_ do such a thing, his fear that he might somehow have been wrong about them... He knew now what had really happened. He realised that when he grabbed the console that was present back home, though not here, to turn around it faster when he went to shelter from any weapons fire, that he had done _something_ that had caused all this. However, knowing what really happened didn't stop the memories and the doubts from surfacing. Didn't stop him from practically drowning in them. He glanced around the darkened, filthy room, shifting restlessly on his feet as he took in the very different sight from the brightly lit and clean room back home. He was so alone but he wasn't alone and for that he was kind of...

"_Stop fidgetin' already, damn you_!" Raph suddenly exploded, practically in Mikey's face causing him to flinch. "Could you be any _more_ annoying?"

Mikey swallowed and tentatively raised his eyes to meet the furious turtle's. He was starting to feel sick of this, he hated feeling like he had to be so careful. It wasn't in his nature. "Yeah... yeah, I could." He admitted before suddenly straightening and grinning disarmingly in Raph's face. "Actually, being annoying is one of my many specialities, along with naming things. Just ask my bros if you ever get to meet them!"

"Well, you better stop it here," Raph snarled, "unless you wanna find yerself out on yer shell!"

"Raphael!" Leo snapped, suddenly stepping into the space between Mikey and Raph. "We will not be throwing Michelangelo out, however much you dislike him! If you absolutely have a need to pick a fight, pick it with me instead."

Raph tossed Leo a contemptuous glare, "Just might have to do that. I'm gettin' sick and tired of the way you guys are tryin' to replace our little bro with... _this, _this cheap, carbon copy of him!" He curled his lip as he waved his hand dismissively towards Mikey, who had his eyes locked warily on Raph from behind Leo.

Raphael's words were met with a stunned silence from all three.

To be continued.


	11. Chapter 10

Series: TMNT

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. And some scheduled fluff. Unbetaed.

Summary: "You're already hurtin' 'em, There's already been enough loss as it is." The stranger glared in obvious trepidation. Reeling from loss, hope will be found in an unexpected form. No OC's. Set: Canon 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. Canon 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'

**And One to Grow On**

Ch – 10

"Raphael!" Leonardo snapped, suddenly stepping into the space between Mikey and Raph. "We will not be throwing Michelangelo out, however much you dislike him! If you absolutely have a need to pick a fight with somebody, pick it with me instead."

Raph tossed Leo a contemptuous glare, "Just might have to do that, Leonardo. I'm gettin' sick and tired of the way you guys are tryin' to replace our little bro with... _this, _this cheap, carbon copy of him!" He curled his lip as he waved his hand dismissively towards Mikey, who had his eyes locked warily on Raph from behind Leo.

Raphael's words were met with a stunned silence from all three. "Wassa matter? Got nothin' to say? Afraid to admit the truth?" Raph challenged angrily, looking between Leo and Donnie.

"What?" Donnie asked in shock. "No one is trying to replace anyone! Why would we? Even if we were, _which we are not_, what about his family? How do you think they would feel?"

Mikey flicked his eyes from one arguing turtle to the next as he stood by, wishing he was almost anywhere else but here.

"Is that what you truly believe, Raphael?" Leo asked quietly. "Do you _really_ think we could or would even _want_ to?"

"It's sure as shell how everyone's actin'!" Raph spat in retort. "An' I'm sick of it!"

"We are trying to _help_ Michelangelo because it's our duty to help him, _not_ because we want to replace anyone!" Leo replied hotly. "What exactly is it that you don't get about that, Raphael?"

Mikey couldn't help but cringe at Leo's word choice but at the same time, he couldn't help but be relieved to know the other three were too focused on each other to notice his reaction.

"What I _get_, Leonardo, is that you are jumpin' at any chance that you can get to forget about Mikey! You've been doin' it for months!"

"As if you are one to talk!" Leo interjected; his brother's comment hitting too close to home to sit well with him. However, he was ignored and simply spoken over.

"An' you're still doin' it now, only now we got some other-dimensional _fake_ to ease your conscious and help you take your mind offa him!" Raph whirled angrily to glare at his other brother for a moment before returning his fiery gaze back to Leo. "Don's just as bad! Bein' so nice to 'im, actin' in front of everyone like everythin's fine but _that_," he waved his hand furiously in Mikey's direction once more, without even deigning to look, "is makin' him crumble up in private and yet he's _still_ tryin' to pretend that..."

Mikey could do nothing but stare in horror as the vitriol continued to spew forth from Raphael's mouth. He shook, this whole thing may not have been his fault, he knew that, but him being here was the definitely the trigger for it all and he couldn't stand it. Back at home when his Leo and Raph fought seriously, it could be bad enough; he always felt terrible hearing it, though he always tried his hardest to prevent his brothers from noticing just how badly it actually affected him, but this! The viciousness in Raph's tone, the unmasked hurt in Donnie's eyes, the answering fury in Leo's voice. Mikey wanted so badly to somehow stop it but what could he do? He wasn't that good with words and on top of that he wasn't even theirs, so it wasn't his place to step in. Donnie and Leo were only putting up with him out of some twisted sense of responsibility and Raph! He'd seen similar anger before, back home but not with this utter hatred attached.

"An' _furthermore_..."

"_**Stop it**_!"

Mikey blinked, wondering briefly where that voice had come from before noticing he had somehow shoved his way in between Leo and Raph and he knew then that he had been the one to say it. "_Please_, just _stop_ _fighting_!"

Both Raph and Leo stopped and stood there, staring at the source of the unexpected outburst. Leo took a step back to give him room but Raph steadfastly stood his ground.

Mikey shook, not from fear but from the intensity of the emotions raging within the room around him; from the palpable hatred he could feel emanating from the older, other-dimensional version of his hot tempered brother, from Leo's anger, both at himself and his brother and Donnie's self guilt and pain. Mikey took a shaky breath before continuing and locked eyes with Raph. "If you want to hate on me, that's fine but stop hating on Leo and Donnie! They don't deserve it!

"I get it, I really do! I'm _not_ who you _wish_ I was and I'm really sorry about that Raph but guess what? You guys aren't who I wish you were either! You at least have each other though so _stop_ pushing each other away before you end up losing that too!" Mikey took a step back so that he could see Raph, Donnie and Leo all at once. He saw Raph begin to open his mouth, probably to have another go at someone, most likely himself so he rushed ahead, not entirely sure what he was going to say but just going along with the emotional flow of the moment.

Shaking his head, Mikey said, "Since we're stuck with each other, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm not even going to to think of you dudes as my bros because all of you are right, it _does_ hurt too much, no matter the reason for the hurt. Instead, I'm going to think of you guys, as extended family, like cousins or something. That'll work 'cause I've always wanted some of those." At this point, looking directly at Raph again, Mikey couldn't help but grin cheekily, "You can be the weird cousin that no one wants to admit they're related to in public."

Mikey took a deep breath as he finished speaking. He really wasn't sure where any of that had actually come from but he felt so relieved to have actually spoken up. The argument had stopped, mostly due to the others being too gobsmacked to continue but he didn't care why, as long as it stopped. The emotions running across the faces of the other three turtles were in constant flux, as if no one was even really sure quite how to react. Finally, Mikey heard something almost like a smothered snort of laughter but he couldn't tell exactly who it came from.

He glanced Donnie's way, changing the subject. "Do we have to stay here much longer, Donnie? I really don't like being in this place..."

"I just have a couple more scans to run. Another ten to fifteen minutes tops." Donnie assured him after a few moments.

Mikey nodded in relief even as Leo spoke up. "What's so bad about it? It is just an old, abandoned warehouse. There are far worse places to be than here."

"Dude, really? This place is where my nightmare began!"

"That's a bit melodramatic."

Mikey stared at Leo in disbelief at how insensitive the older turtle was being, 'and my brothers think I am bad...' "I've been accused of being lots of things, stupid, being useless, being annoying but melodramatic is new."

"You know," Donnie suddenly spoke up in order to quell the developing argument he could see coming. "Michelangelo, I think you should leave a message of some sort here, just in case your family finds a way to come looking for you." He turned to his nearby duffel bag as Mikey looked curiously on and began to rummage through it. Finally, triumphantly, he pulled out a thick, black marker and passed it over to the bemused turtle.

"What kind of message..." Mikey asked, staring at the texta Donatello had placed in his hand.

"Something to let them know that you are here."

"Something unique to you that only they will recognise," Leo added thoughtfully, "but nothing that anyone else would associate with a mutant turtle, just in case, so that means no names."

Mikey looked from the texta to the wall and back a couple of times, thinking hard as he did. Finally he smiled and bounded lightly over to the wall and wrote his short message. His smile widened with pride as he stepped back a few minutes later to admire his artistic graffiti.

'Dr. Prankenstein is on Call'

Each 'i' was dotted with what appeared to be bloated water balloons. It was perfect, in his opinion.

"Doctor Prankenstein? What the shell is _that_?" Raph asked, his tone filled with quiet contempt as he spoke for the first time since the argument.

"That's me." Mikey beamed, ignoring the tone. "Only my family and April know my alter ego so it's perfect!"

"I guess this means that you also enjoy pulling pranks." Leo observed warily.

"Hm mm!" Mikey nodded, still eyeing his masterpiece.

"Better not pull that shit here." Raph growled warningly.

Mikey felt his smile widen, though he still didn't turn away from the wall he faced. He felt good about the message, like he was finally actually doing something to help himself in this awful situation. "Wouldn't be true to myself if I didn't," he teased "Guess someone better watch his shell."

"_You little_..."

"I'm done here!" Donnie spoke up hurriedly. "Just give me a minute to pack my equipment away and then we can leave."

"Did you find anything useful, Don?" Leo asked curiously.

"I'm not entirely certain," Donnie mused thoughtfully. "I did find some unusual readings, however they are extremely faint. They did look vaguely familiar though, as if I have seen them or something like them before but I shall have to wait until we get home to look into it more thoroughly."

"I am sure it can wait until after morning training. It has been a long couple of days." Leo said firmly.

"I can quite easily spend a couple of hours on this tonight without it eating into my sleep." Donnie protested. "I'm usually up much later than this anyway."

"True," Leo admitted, "however, like I said, it has been a long couple of days and you in particular, look worn out." Leo carefully avoided adding that he meant emotionally. "If I catch you in your lab before lunch for any reason other than putting your duffel in there when we get home, there will be consequences, Donatello."

Donnie sighed in defeat before glancing worriedly towards Michelangelo, who gave him an encouraging smile even while shuffling nervously from foot to foot.

"No rush, D dude, it's not worth your health and Leo said I'll get home for sure, one way or another. Now can we _please_ just leave this place? Being here is worse than squirrelanoids and Raph's morning breath rolled together!"

Raph scowled more deeply than he had already been doing even as Leo said, "I have no idea what a squirrelanoid is but yes, let's head home now."

\- . - . -

The four ninja reached home without further incident that night. Though Raph was strangely silent and broody, even for him, he didn't make any further comments or digs at Michelangelo, however he did peel off and go straight to his room upon entering he lair. Donnie placed his duffel on the bench in his lab, annoyed by the fact that Leo watched over him to make sure the genius came straight back out. Mikey headed directly for the kitchen for his usual post-patrol late night snack before bed. It was something he nearly always did back home and since arriving in this world, he had been unable to do so. In that eight days he was on his own he'd had enough trouble just finding enough to eat in the first place without having leftovers for snacks so he was extra grateful to be able to do so now that he had been taken in by, relatively speaking, well off other-dimensional family.

As Mikey opened the door to the kitchen, a ginger blur abruptly streaked by his vision causing Mikey to jump back and yelp in surprise. After a few seconds and not hearing any more movement inside, Mikey cautiously peered into the room, tentatively taking a step further in as he saw no sign of whatever it was that he had seen. He stared around the room anxiously, hoping it wasn't a weird coloured squirrelanoid. Mikey grumbled to himself, "Maybe I shouldn't have compared them to that place before... now I'm seeing things and seriously, that is just so not cool!"

Mikey forced himself to relax, pasting a faint smile onto his face as he swallowed back his apprehension and resumed his walk towards the fridge. There was pizza inside it calling his name. Upon opening the door, he grinned properly, instantly forgetting about his over-active imagination as he spied the two left over slices from lunch. Clutching the plate lovingly to his plastron, Mikey turned towards the microwave, bumming the fridge door shut behind him as he hummed cheerfully. He was determined to not let anything else get to him anymore.

Suddenly out of his peripheral vision, Mikey spotted the ginger thing flying at him through the air from up on top of one of the kitchen cabinets.

Startled and stumbling backwards, Mikey yelled in fright as he tripped, his plate of precious pizza flying haphazardly into the air as he fell backwards onto his shell and the wildly purring creature landed onto him with a faint thud.

...purring?

Mikey hesitantly opened his eyes, staring into the whiskered ginger and white face that stared back briefly before it began rubbing it's face vigorously into the side of Mikey's mouth.

Leo and Donnie, followed closely by Raph, came bursting into the kitchen, weapons drawn, battle ready.

Mikey looked up to the others, happy his fears of ginger squirrelanoids, or maybe something worse, were unfounded. "Dudes! You have a cat?" He questioned, laughing in surprise.

"Uh... yes." Leo blinked at the unexpected sight of cat on floored ninja turtle and slowly sheathed both katana again. "We do."

Raph's eyes widened in bewilderment, as he stared down at the ecstatically purring feline.

"We don't see very much of Klunk any more, he mostly only shows up for food and that's usually when our shells are turned." Leo explained quietly, "and he certainly doesn't hang around anyone any more to show affection..."

"Stupid cat!" Raph muttered more to himself than anyone else before storming out the kitchen for his room again. 'Can't believe even the damn cat...'

"Really? But he's so cute!" Mikey giggled again, pushing himself to a seated position, careful not to knock or hurt Klunk by accident. He scratched the ginger kitty gently under his furred chin and the cat furiously lapped up the attention like he had been starved.

"Yes, he's cute alright; when he isn't causing chaos and destruction, knocking things down and breaking delicate equipment." Donnie mused quietly, before adding, "At least, he used to do those things..."

"Klunk certainly seems to like you." Leo observed as he walked closer, stooping to pick up the plastic wrapped, melanine Justice Force plate that had landed on the ground a couple of meters away from the downed turtle. "Did you drop something?" Leo teased lightly as he held out the plate.

"Heh! Guess I did." Mikey hauled himself to his feet again, grinning as he placed Klunk on the ground and reached out for the plate. He sighed in relief at seeing the pizza still intact, not that it would have bothered him too much if it wasn't. Mikey tried to walk to the microwave again to heat up the pizza, almost finding himself flat on his face as Klunk wove tenaciously around his ankles, the insistent purring louder than ever. Mikey couldn't help but grin down at the attention starved furball at his feet, "You're a strong little ninja kitty, aren't you, Klunk?" Mikey didn't notice the brief looks of pain that crossed the faces of his other-dimensional brothers as he bent down to pick up the cat again. Mikey realised he wouldn't be walking anywhere safely if he didn't.

Once Klunk was up in Mikey's arm, he climbed up onto the turtle's shoulder, walking across the top of his shell from one side to the other and back again, rubbing the back and sides of Mikey's head and purring continuously the whole time.

The microwave dinged and Mikey took his late night snack out. He reached up with one hand to scratch Klunk's head as he took the food to his 'room'. "Wanna stay with me tonight, little ninja kitty dude?" Mikey laughed.

A loud, determined purr was his only verbal response.

To be continued

A/N: Well, I promised some fluff, was ginger fluff enough? XD

Sorry for this being a bit short but I wanted to end on a positive note for a change of pace :-)

I meant to get this chapter out a few days ago but I needed to finish up a Secret Santa gift fic for CuddlyHawk "First Season's Greetings" (which can be found in my profile) and since I was preparing to go away for Christmas to be with family on the other side of Australia, I just ran out of time to finish typing this chapter up. Sorry. Anyway, I am away from home for the next couple of weeks so not sure if I will have time or not to work on this story until after I get home again

See you soon!


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.

Please Read &amp; Review. ConCrit always welcomed.

A/N: Other than being inspired by other fic and being stuck with how to proceed at one point, I really have no excuse for the delay on this chapter. I'm very sorry for making you wait so long. On the other hand, for those of you that missed it, a couple of weeks ago I _did_ write and post a one-shot side fic to this story – 'Tsumetai', which takes place about a week before the start of 'AOtGO'. 'Tsumetai' was written for the February TMNTContests theme 'Cold' on DA and is set in the 2k12 universe, the night that Michelangelo disappeared.

In other news, I won a kiriban from one of the fantastic artists on DA who drew a scene from the previous chapter of this story. The link, if you would like to see it, is on my profile :-)

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch – 11

Ten thirty arrived and Michelangelo still had not emerged from his slumber so Leonardo went upstairs to fetch him. Upon opening the door and flicking on the main light, Leo caught sight of the sleeping other-dimensional turtle and orange and white cat curled snugly around each other. Despite Leo's practically inaudible steps into the room, Klunk's eyes opened and he lifted his head with a warning glare within his slitted eyes and a slight growl as if to threaten, "you take him away from me again, I will not only claw you to pieces but I will shed over everything you own and for the final insult, use your bed as my litter box."

Leo chuckled lightly, now he could see just why it was Mikey had always claimed to know exactly what Klunk was telling him. That cat really could be extremely expressive when the mood suited him. "Don't worry, Klunk, I'm not taking him away. It's just time to get up," he cajoled soothingly.

Klunk calmly lowered his warm, furred chin back onto the sleeping Michelangelo's plastron but kept wary eyes on Leonardo as the turtle moved closer to the bed.

"Time to get up, Michelangelo. If you want to eat before training, you have less than half an hour." Leo commanded loudly as he shook Michelangelo awake.

"But bro..." Mikey whined, mostly asleep still, "you haven't even slapped Crankshaw for taking the last two potatoes out for a space-walk yet."

Despite knowing Michelangelo was not exactly awake, Leo couldn't help but stare at the oblivious younger turtle, wondering just what the shell he was going on about. Leo shook his head hurriedly, dismissing it as unimportant. "Wake up!"

Michelangelo slowly sat up, blinking and yawning sleepily. Within moments, he latched like a limpet onto Leonardo with a sleepy hug. "Leo, I had the most _awful_ nightmare..." he whined miserably, "everyone was gone and I was left all alone and then everyone was _back_ but nothing was right and..."

Trying not to grimace, Leo firmly but gently peeled the younger turtle away from himself. "Obviously you are still dreaming, Michelangelo."

Pulling away suddenly awake, Michelangelo stared in shock at Leo before realisation dawned and colour rushed into his face. "Oh! I'm really sorry, Leo!"

"It is alright," Leo said stiffly. "You now have about twenty minutes before training commences." With that, Leo turned and left, tightly closing the bedroom door behind himself as he all but ran. He could already tell that this day would be a trying one.

\- . - . -

Not long later, Michelangelo waltzed into the kitchen for breakfast, a furry shadow in tow that barely allowed him to move more than a few steps without rubbing desperately for attention. Michelangelo was chattering merrily to the cat and giggling at his attempts to trip him up.

"You no longer have time for a complete breakfast, just make yourself some toast or cereal." Leo advised sternly, still in that stiff, no nonsense voice he had used only minutes prior in the bedroom. "Klunk's biscuits are in the cupboard there. Just fill his bowl, he'll graze as he wants to."

Trying to ignore the tone, Mikey grinned. "Cool! You hear that, Klunkers? I get to feed you!" The purr in reply was massive.

Mikey filled the cat bowl around Klunk's butting in head, before tossing some bread in the banged up, old toaster, eyeing it suspiciously. "Hey, dudes? Why does it look like the toaster's about to fall apart? Is it even safe to use?"

Leo coughed.

A brief but grim smile flashed quickly across Donnie's face. "Let's just say that Leo needs to learn how to play nice with poor, innocent kitchen appliances."

Mikey turned his wide, blue gaze on the sword-wielding turtle but before he could say anything, Leo interrupted.

"You better hurry, training is in five." He then stood and hurriedly left before he could be questioned further.

As soon as Mikey finished gulping down his breakfast, he and Donnie left the kitchen together to join the rest of the household in the dojo. As they bowed in, a ginger fur-ball sauntered in behind like he owned the place and headed determinately for Michelangelo.

Splinter's whiskers twitched spasmodically as he turned an unimpressed stare to the much smaller feline. "Please remove that cat immediately."

"Hai Sensei!" Mikey responded, quickly bowing and picking up Klunk. "Sorry Klunk but you've gotta stay out of here. I'll play with you again later." He dropped the cat gently outside of the dojo doorway and returned to line up, however Klunk followed him back in insistently. Splinter's ears flattened in displeasure.

Mikey hunkered down, scratching Klunk affectionately behind the ears. "It's too dangerous for you to be in here, little dude. You gotta wait outside." Once more, he picked the small cat up, dropping him outside the room again but Klunk wouldn't have a bar of it.

"Leonardo." Splinter prompted.

"Yes Sensei." Leo bowed, moving immediately to pick up the cat. Klunk hissed fiercely in warning. His fur stuck out on end, making himself look twice his normal size to ward off the incoming threat. Leo stopped, eyeing the feline carefully. The last thing he wanted was to hurt his brother's cat, but he didn't want to be scratched by the angry pet either.

Mikey noticed Leonardo's hesitation and quickly picked up Klunk yet again, soothing the agitated animal as he did. He looked questioningly at Leo. "What now? There's no door to close, dude."

"Follow me. We'll put him in the garage for now." Leo replied decisively, already leading the way.

A few minutes later, both turtles were back in the dojo, cat-less and the morning training session began.

\- . - . -

When the lesson was over a little over three hours later, Splinter was extremely displeased. It wasn't so much the fact that Michelangelo was behind compared to his sons, that was understandably due mostly to a combination of his younger age and his comparative lack of experience. It was more thanks to the fact that it was obvious his sons and Michelangelo didn't know how to work together. There was simply too much difference between their styles. Michelangelo wasn't up to par with their skills and the other three just didn't quite know how to handle him, let alone work with him and one of them wasn't even attempting to try.

They certainly weren't used to teaming with someone who would randomly switch between nunchaku and kusarigama and back on a regular basis, even though his sons were trained in both weapons and many others besides. Another problem, Splinter discovered early on, was that Michelangelo had very little training in the use of most other weapons, especially the ones that Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael used.

As the four turtles stood lined up and waiting, Splinter gazed thoughtfully at them. Several minutes later, he turned to Donatello. "Please be sure to record my stories, my son. For now, I wish to meditate on the problems at hand." He then looked over each student, nodding in turn. "Dismissed."

Splinter turned and headed for his meditation room.

\- . - . -

"So, we can let Klunk in now, right?" Michelangelo asked eagerly, practically bouncing on the spot.

Leo sighed, "Yes."

Donnie stared at both in trepidation, "Where did you put the agent of chaos anyway?" he inquired, not really sure he wanted to know the answer.

"In the garage," Leo admitted cautiously. "It seemed the safest place."

Donnie stopped dead in his tracks, fixing Leonardo with a displeased stare. "You shut Klunk in my garage? Are you insane?"

Leo simply looked at his purple masked brother.

"Right... At least you had enough sense not to put him in my lab."

"Or in anyone's bedroom."

"If he has destroyed, damaged or messed up anything in that room, you two will be the ones cleaning it up!" Donatello promised.

Michelangelo looked from one other-dimensional turtle to the other in confusion. "How much trouble can one little kitty get into anyway?"

"Considering Klunk was Mikey's cat? You'd be surprised." Donnie sighed glumly. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn his brother had trained that cat to cause as much mischief as possible. "Not to mention the fact that since meeting you, Klunk is acting far more like himself than he has been in months but... possessive. I dread to think of the consequences."

Mikey grinned sheepishly. If his counterpart had gotten into even half the trouble he did on a regular basis...

The three turtles opened the door to the garage, half expecting to see a ginger, whirling dervish wreaking havoc but there was no sign of the feline, other than the debris left behind. To Donatello's dismay, there were nuts, bolts, screws and other assorted small parts tipped from containers all over the floor and benches, not to mention shredded paper and cardboard everywhere.

"I suggest you two get cleaning." Donnie said tightly as he uneasily walked towards the paper scraps. Bending down, his eyes narrowed in irritation. Donnie picked up the pieces within his immediate reach and stood, deliberately keeping his shell to Leo and Michelangelo. His voice was emotionless, cold. "These... were plans for upgrades to the van." With that, Donatello turned and walked very calmly, too calmly, out of the garage and into the main part of the lair.

Leo winced. "That could have gone better."

Michelangelo peered worriedly around the room, "Where's Klunk?"

"Probably out. There's a small gap in this room to the outside that he often takes advantage of. He'll be fine, don't worry." Leo replied, looking all around at the mess; everywhere but at Michelangelo himself. "Come on, the sooner we start, the sooner we will finish."

The two alternate dimensional brothers began tidying the room and the silence lasted all of five minutes. "Donnie was so strangely calm." Mikey observed, unable to stand the quiet any longer. "My Donnie would have so been nerd raging over this." Mikey grinned at the memory of his brother agitated with voice raised, deliberately covering up the homesickness that washed over him at the thought.

"It takes a lot to get Don mad," Leo admitted, "but when he does, even Raph knows when to back off."

"Oh... so different..." Michelangelo murmured quietly. He went back to quietly picking up screws between his toes, lifting and tossing them nonchalantly into nearby containers with an effortless, unerring accuracy. Leo watched for a moment, marvelling at the extra dexterity the other-dimensional Michelangelo seemed to have with those strangely shaped feet; something he knew that Don would have been fascinated by.

"Hey, Leo? I'm not complaining, just wondering, why do you guys start training so late in the morning? I mean, I'm definitely happy about that, since we were out so late last night but it seems weird." Michelangelo stopped and stared at Leo, waiting for an answer.

Leo paused and regarded Michelangelo seriously. "Since we are only able to go topside when it's dark, there is no point in keeping the same hours as most in the human world do. We used to start our day much earlier but after we began going topside regularly for patrols and so on, it was only natural to change our hours," he explained. "Besides, not only is it to our benefit but it also suits Master Splinter more. Since he's a rat, it's normal for him to keep more nocturnal hours."

Michelangelo wrinkled his beak in consternation. "Okay, I get that once he mutated he would have gotten some rat's instincts but my Master Splinter never seemed to be that effected by it. Unless we have had to stay out really late 'cause of the Kraang or something, he still expects us up by seven, except on Sundays."

Multiple questions raced through Leonardo's mind, even as Michelangelo returned to picking up spilled parts with his feet, so fast and with such a rhythm that it almost seemed as though the younger mutant was dancing.

"What do you mean by that, Michelangelo?" Leo asked carefully. The smaller turtle turned to regard Leonardo curiously and Leo frowned, uncomfortable by the scrutiny from the person who reminded him so sorely of his own lost brother. "Master Splinter was born with a rat's instincts. It's in his very natu..."

"Lunch is ready." Raph suddenly interrupted tersely, appearing in the doorway and tossing a quick glare in Michelangelo's direction before facing Leo. "Better come soon. Not much worse than soggy noodles."

Michelangelo grinned broadly with a twinkle in his eye, "Thanks Raph! I really hope you cook better than my Raph though. His cooking is awful!" He laughed, already moving towards the door.

Raph's expression hardened but he turned and left without another word.

\- . - . -

"Hey Raph?" Mikey called out when Raphael stood to leave after finishing his meal. Raph paused but didn't look back. "Those noodles were actually pretty good. Thanks!"

The silence dragged out for a few seconds before Raph grunted in acknowledgement and left.

Mikey fought his inclination to sigh despondently and returned to the remaining few bites of food, making sure his normally present smile was firmly fixed in place. Raph was difficult in any world, Mikey figured and it would take a while to get through to him. Though his brothers never really realised, he was the most persistent of them, just... in different ways to them. He'd definitely worm his way in sooner or later.

"How did you both go with the clean-up in the garage?" Donnie began conversationally now that the quick tempered turtle was gone.

"We were nearly done by the time Raph said lunch was ready." Leo assured his brother. "Another ten minutes or so and it will be finished."

"After we're done..." Mikey began hesitantly, "mind if I go sewer skating? I know where this place is now so I won't get lost and I could call if I did anyway."

Mikey squirmed slightly under Leo's contemplative examination.

"Strange as I know it sounds, I really could use a bit of time to myself and skating's the best way for me."

"Alright. Just make sure your Shell... uh phone has enough charge and be careful. It's still daylight on the surface so keep to the sewers and watch out for workers." Leo eventually replied.

Mikey laughed, "Dude! I've lived down here nearly sixteen years too, remember? Besides, I was alone and looking after myself just fine for over a week before you guys found me." He paused then added, "I know I have a short attention span but I'll be fine, I promise."

Leo smiled gently. "I know and I'm sorry, I can't help but worry. It's my job as leader and you are so much younger than the rest of us," he explained. "Besides... you don't know the dangers of this world, Michelangelo."

Mikey lowered his eyes to the table, feeling chastised by the reminder.

"I'll finish off in the garage. We were nearly done anyway." Leo offered.

A natural smile quickly flowed into his features as Mikey lifted his gaze back up to meet Leo's. "Thanks other-dimensional bro!"

Mikey jumped excitedly out of his seat, hurriedly dumped his bowl and fork into the sink and ran to the room he was using. He grabbed his skateboard before racing back out to the main exit of the lair. Abruptly, he stopped dead and stared at the door for a few seconds before turning and trotting sheepishly back into the kitchen where Leo and Donnie still sat, silently finishing off their lunch.

"Uh... heh! Can someone help me with the door?"

\- . - . -

A number of hours later, Leo finished his extra personal training session and listened intently to the sounds of the lair. He was certain Michelangelo had not yet returned and it was getting late. Concern filling him, he headed for Donnie's lab, spotting Raph sprawled in front of the television monolith, watching something rowdy as he passed.

"Raph," Leo ventured cautiously, "do you know if Michelangelo returned yet?"

"Wouldn't know and don't care," came the curt reply.

Leo frowned before leaving again, not liking his brother's attitude. It was pointless to say anything however and at least Raph wasn't actively trying to start fights about the whole situation today.

Knocking gently on the door to Donnie's work space, Leo let himself in, not entirely surprised that his genius brother didn't seem to hear. For a moment, Leo quietly despaired. They were ninja and as such, they were trained to be fully aware of their surroundings at all times but Donnie only seemed to get worse, rather than better, when he immersed himself into a project. Leonardo so badly wanted to comment about it but he was afraid it could cause Donnie heartache or to breakdown if he brought up the subject.

If he voiced his concerns, Donatello would be sure to flash back to that night again.

"Don," Leo called softly, trying to make sure to tread more heavily than usual. It wasn't an easy feat for the stealthily trained ninja whose instinct was to be completely silent as he moved. He reached Donnie's side and still no reaction. Leo glanced at the open computer screen in front of his brother. He couldn't even pretend to understand anything on it. None of it even looked like it was in English.

"Those are the readings I took last night." Donnie suddenly spoke up softly. "Most were so weak that I am having trouble making anything out of them." He sighed, barely moving but keeping his gaze firmly locked on the brightly lit monitor directly in front of him.

"Something about them seems very familiar but... The readings are so degraded and faint that I am at a loss as to how or even where I have seen them." Donatello finally moved a hand slowly away from his keyboard, reaching up to rub at his throbbing temple.

"Have you been staring at this screen non-stop since lunch?" Leonardo asked, worried about how Donnie appeared.

A slight smile crossed his brother's face, "Pretty much but you didn't hear that from me."

Leo sighed and placed his hands on the back of Donatello's wheeled office chair, pulling the entire seat backwards and spinning it around away from the computer to face him. Donnie looked up in surprise as Leonardo settled his calming hands on his shoulders.

"You don't have to work so hard, Don." Leo assured. "Even Michelangelo said not to try _too_ hard since he will get home, regardless of how long it takes."

Donatello grimaced. "We know that and he knows that but what about his family? They must be sick with worry, Leo. At least..." he swallowed painfully, "... at least we _know_ what happ... happened to _our_ brother. They don't even have that! To them, he's just _gone_."

"And if they are _any_thing like us, they won't give up until they find out what happened." Leo insisted firmly, holding Donnie's gaze. "Yes, getting him home sooner rather than later is important but not at the cost of your health. Don't forget that, Don."

"I'll try, Leo." Donnie nodded. "Was... there something you needed?"

Leo nodded and straightened up, releasing his hands from his brother's shoulders. "Yes. I'm certain Michelangelo has not returned yet and it's been over four hours since he left. I know you added his She... phone to the network."

"T-phone."

"Are you able to track it like you can ours?"

"Of course, Leo. Nothing simpler" Already turning back to his computer, Donnie paused and looked back up at Leo. "Did you try ringing him?"

"Actually, yes. There was no answer and to be honest, I'm worried that calling repeatedly might cause problems if he is in trouble or trying to stay hidden." Leo rubbed his left forearm as he spoke.

Donnie nodded, deftly clicking on his mouse to lower the current window and open his tracking map instead. After about a minute, Donatello had tracked the signal and its GPS history. He frowned. "He's still in the sewers Leo or at least his T-phone is but... the signal hasn't moved an inch for nearly two hours."

Leo's heart clenched tightly. "How long would it take to get to his location?"

"If we took the sewer sliders as far as we can, not even thirty minutes." Donnie calculated swiftly as he studied the map.

"I'll get Raph. You prep the sliders and we'll meet you there."

As Donnie gathered his duffel, Leo ran back to the monolith only to find the televisions off and Raph nowhere in sight. He frowned and went to check Raph's bedroom and the weights room before running to the garage only to find the Shell-cycle was gone. Leonardo groaned in dismay. It was useless to keep searching and he knew that Raph was unlikely to hear his Shell-cell while riding. Quickly, he exited the lair, meeting with Donnie by one of the nearby flowing streams of 'water'.

"Raph?" Donnie questioned, not seeing his hot-headed brother.

"Gone." Leo answered grimly. "We're on our own."

"It may be nothing, Leo."

"I know but he hasn't moved in two hours. I don't know about you Don but I really do not want to take that chance.

"Michelangelo is a born trouble magnet."

\- . - . -

to be continued


	13. Chapter 12

Series: TMNT

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'. Please Read &amp; Review. ConCrit always welcomed.

A/N: For those that have read my other stories, one of the flashbacks contained within this chapter will be very familiar. For that, I apologise but it really did fit perfectly for what I needed to convey. However, the ending of that flashback is very different from the original ending. Also, due to the fact this chapter was over 5k words long and since a certain person keeps saying how evil I supposedly am, I felt it best to split this chapter into two parts.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch – 12

It was nights like this that Raphael wished he didn't need to hide behind a full face helmet. The buildings and pedestrians seemingly rushed past in a blur as Raph sped by, a little too fast, on his bike. He would have given anything right then to be able to feel the wind through his protective leathers or to have the visor up. It may have been early Autumn still but tonight was stifling and he wanted nothing more than to be able to lose himself in the moment.

If he had gone for a rooftop run instead, he could have gloried in the pure rush of wind in his face and nothing but air beneath his feet with the pavement far below as he catapulted from one building to the next. Unfortunately if he had done that instead, he would have had no excuse for ignoring the Shell-cell that was sure to soon be vibrating insistently in his belt.

Staring determinately ahead, Raphael spotted a sign for a turnoff to a nearby bridge leading out of the city. He clenched his jaw tightly, then angled his bike. Decision made, he rode out of the city.

Outside the city limits, Raph twisted the throttle, feeling the bike respond accordingly beneath him. The roar of the engine, the powerful thrum of the well-tuned bike, soothed his spirit as the sleek machine's vibrations ran up through his shell. Unerringly, he let instinct guide him along familiar back roads often travelled whenever he simply needed to get away for a few hours.

Smooth road surfaces soon gave way to rough, potholed tracks and Raph finally slowed down. After travelling a little longer, the turtle pulled to a stop, switching off his bike engine and pulling the Shellcycle behind some bushes and trees. From past experience no one really came this way but Raphael wasn't willing to take the chance of leaving his only transportation, his precious bike, in plain sight. All he wanted right now was a few hours of relative peace away from annoying brothers and that other Mikey.

"Probably wouldn't be so bad if he was at least still around..." Raph muttered sullenly as he sunk to the ground, leaning against a tree and looking up towards the stars. It seemed as though the multiverse was mocking them all.

Their fun, laughter and joy was gone...

\- . - . -

_Raph growled menacingly at his aggravating little brother but Mikey, as usual, either didn't take the hint or more likely refused to._

_Mikey danced around Raph taunting him with every bounce, keeping just out of Raph's immediate lunging range._

"_Aww, what's the matter? The big, bad Raphie too slow?" Mikey laughed raucously as he tossed the remote control from one three-fingered hand to the other._

"_Give it back ya damn shell-for-brains, before I pound that stupid shell of yours into next week!" Raph's scowl deepened. Mikey didn't even _want_ the damn T.V.! He'd just returned home with a stack of comics fresh from the week's new deliveries._

_Mikey laughed again, using the loud, obnoxious laughter he deliberately saved for when trying to piss Raph off. "Shouldn't make threats you can't back up, _Raphie_," Mikey mocked in a teasing tone._

"_Who says I can't back 'em up?" Raph snarled. Little turd was really trying his patience tonight and he didn't want to waste time with their whole stupid chase scene crap. He just wanted to watch the damn wrestling! Raphael smirked suddenly and Mikey stiffened, ready to bolt at the look but Raph quickly shifted his gaze to look behind and to the left of his too energetic brother. "Thank shell! Leo, just the turtle to help out, unless ya wanna be scrapin' bits of Mikey off the walls."_

_Mikey's eyes immediately went wide and he darted his head around in panic to look where Raphael was addressing. Raph felt his smirk widen into a full wicked grin as he lunged forward, grabbing the suddenly squirming turtle by the back of his shell and throwing him hard to the ground._

"_What? Leo's not even there!" Mikey cried out indignantly._

_Raph snorted derisively, "'course he's not! Not like I even need Fearless to help me in dealin' with you!"_

\- . - . -

Their light was no more...

\- . - . -

_Yet another argument about the same old, same old. He was just tired of it and eventually he had left, just before finally socking Leo one. Trouble was, it was still daylight topside and would be for a few more hours yet. He couldn't go up and expend his angry energy in the best way he knew how. Instead, Raphael was trapped underground; so he ran. He ran until instinct guided him to a tunnel leading to a vast expanse over a long drop. A small waterfall poured from the other side of the yawning chasm and Raph stared. For a moment, he thought about turning and finding another path to run then realised he came here because it was right. It was what he needed. The rush of water may not have been a natural or even a pretty waterfall but if he closed his eyes... if he just listened, the sounds were just as soothing as if they were the real thing._

_As Raphael settled down and sat there, soaking up the calming ambience, he felt a presence sidle up from behind. Raph turned his head, opening his eyes and glared fiercely at the unwelcome intruder, groaning inwardly as he realised it was Michelangelo. Mikey gave him a cheeky grin before sitting down beside him without a word, feet dangling loosely over the edge. _

_To Raph's immense relief the two brothers sat in companionable silence for close to an hour and it actually felt kind of nice. For the life of him though, Raph had no idea how the shell Mikey managed to keep that motor mouth of his shut for so long. _

_Mikey snickered suddenly and Raph felt a fresh flash of irritation surge through him._

"What_?" he snapped, opening his eyes and glaring at the mischievous turtle beside him._

"_Just thought of an awesome prank!" Mikey grinned, somehow completely ignoring the warning in Raph's tone. _

"_An' you're tellin' me this why?"_

"_You asked, bro!" Mikey laughed._

"_Mikey..." Raph growled menacingly._

"_Anyway, to pull this one off, I need help from a second turtle."_

_Raph continued to glare warningly._

"_It'll be epic, dude!" Mikey exclaimed, eyes twinkling merrily in the small amount of available light. "Wanna help me prank Leo tonight?"_

_\- . - . -_

And he wasn't coming back. Ever...

\- . - . -

_Raphael paused mid-step in the doorway leading out of the lair. He turned his head to look behind him, perfectly balanced despite his foot half out the door and still in mid-air. Behind him on the couch knelt Michelangelo, staring over the back of the seat toward him, winning grin filling his features as if he had already won the battle._

"_So will you?" The hopeful voice flowed over enthusiastically._

"_Already got plans, Mikey. You know that."_

_Raph couldn't help but notice as Mikey's face fell. He groaned inwardly as Mikey's puppy eyes made their expected appearance._

"_But you've been out bashing heads with Casey every night now for the last two and a half weeks, bro!" Mikey protested. Without breaking his gaze away from Raph's eyes, Mikey stretched his leg out to the side, snagging a game controller between his toes and pulling it in close enough to take with his hand. Mikey dangled it teasingly in the air in front of him. "We could play a game, your choice and I'll even let you win," he grinned cheekily._

"_Oh you will, will you?" Raph smirked, trying and not quite succeeding in his effort to prevent his brother from seeing his amusement. He stepped around to face his brother properly and casually leaned his shell against the door frame. "Ever so generous of you, Mikey, considerin' you wouldn't stand a chance against me anyway."_

_For a moment, Raph actually felt bad as Mikey's eyes lit up in hope._

"_So you'll stay, then?"_

"_Nope, Casey's waitin' for me, sorry." Raph shrugged, not letting the apology be heard in the tone of his voice. He knew if showed even a smidgen of weakness, Mikey would never leave him be. Raphael held up a hand in a nonchalant wave as he turned around again to get back on his way._

"Wait_!" Mikey yelped frantically, stopping Raph in his tracks once more._

_Raph sighed._

"_What?" he grumped._

"_How about something else then? I don't really care what we end up doing, so you can choose. I just want to hang out and spend time with my favourite bro for a change." Mikey pleaded. Raph could feel Mikey's eyes locked unwaveringly on the back of his head._

"_We already hung together for hours earlier."_

"_Training doesn't count..." Mikey sulked._

"_Just... go pester Don or Leo, they're around!" With that, Raph hurriedly left, vaguely hearing Mikey whine about Leo being no fun and something about some supposedly important project as his loud voice faded into the distance the further Raph moved from the lair._

_Thanks to Mikey distracting and delaying him, Raph was already running several minutes late but he wasn't overly worried. It wasn't as though his human friend was always on time himself. Raph unconsciously slowed as he ran through the sewers, heading for the manhole nearest to Casey's and his usual meeting place._

_Major gang and Foot activity was down of recent and had been for a couple of months now, thanks largely to the efforts of his brothers and himself. However, because of this, the bottom feeders had become braver when they realised they no longer had the Purple Dragons, the Turks or the Foot to contend with. Bag snatchings, muggings and rapes by single individuals and small groups of two or three were slowly on the rise and neither Raph nor Casey were willing to stand by and allow it to happen just because all the bigger fish had been scared away._

_As a result, Raph found himself spending less time at home and more time wandering the streets and rooftops with purpose. Even when Leo led a patrol of late, Raph took off with Casey instead. They really didn't need the full team for such small fry._

"... could play a game... I'll even let you win,_" Mikey's voice cajoled within Raph's memory as he ran through the tunnels. Raph growled slightly and roughly pushed the memory of his annoying brother's beseeching words out of his mind._

He had a life beyond that of just his family, dammit!

_Even if the humans above didn't realise it and were nearly always ungrateful for the help they received, they needed him. They needed both Casey and him to stand up for them against the evils of the big city when they were unable to protect themselves; not to mention that Raph actually liked to be needed. He would never let on to his family he felt that way though, in case the sneaky trolls that were his brothers ever tried to use that knowledge against him._

_And they would._

_But he needed to help for other reasons too. _

_Helping to keep the dregs of society down gave Raph a much needed outlet. It gave him a way to deal with any pent up aggression he accumulated throughout the day, which meant he was less likely to take it out on someone who didn't actually deserve it._

_Or Mikey._

_Whoever happened to have the unfortunate timing to trigger his temper first._

_Yes, Raph knew just how much he was needed and how much he needed to get out on a regular basis._

Mikey's eyes lit up in hope. "So you'll stay, then?"

_Right at that moment, Raph really wished he had just kept going instead of lingering when his brother called out as he was leaving home for the evening._

_Raph's gaze flicked ahead a few metres and he smirked when he noticed the familiar manhole coming up on him slowly. Raph frowned, suddenly realising he was only moving at a jog instead of his usual run, so he pushed himself forward again, picking up the pace as he reached the ladder leading upwards towards sanity._

_Raphael listened carefully, extending all his trained senses before sliding the heavy metal cover off and climbing his way out the sewers into, relatively speaking, fresh air and took a deep breath. Even then, he still looked all around him before placing the cover securely back over the hole in the ground and darting towards the nearby fire escape._

"_You're late." Casey's voice accused lightly as Raphael easily jumped from the top of the ladder onto the rooftop._

_Shrugging indifferently, Raph commented, "An' you were late two nights ago, deal with it. Let's get goin'."_

_Casey paused a moment to stare at Raph in concern. "You okay?"_

_Raph gave Casey a weird look, "I'm fine. Come on, bonehead!"_

_Together, the two friends and partners began running across the rooftops, heading towards an area Raph knew was usually rife with crime, both violent and otherwise. He wished fleetingly and not for the first time, that he didn't have to slow down for his friend to keep up with him._

_Oh, Casey tried hard, he knew, but it wasn't like he was actually trained or anything and Raph always had to wait at least a little for him to get from one rooftop to the next. His brothers would never even pause for those jumps unless it was a particularly large gap and even then, there was barely any time wasted as grappling hooks or the like were quickly utilised on sheer instinct._

"I just want to hang out..."

_Raph closed his eyes in exasperation. Why couldn't that knucklehead just stay out of his head already? Somehow, Mikey always had this way of getting deep into their minds, even when he _wasn't_ around. _

_Casey landed beside him with a thud. "I'm not puttin' ya to sleep or nothin' am I, shell-for-brains?"_

_Raph grunted, opening his eyes once more and looking mockingly at Casey, "I'm sure I saw a snail overtake you a few minutes back."_

"_Ha, ha."_

_A scream burst out from below, interrupting their good natured ribbing and Raph and Casey ran quickly to the edge of the roof. They looked down into the lit street and analysed the situation almost instantly. Just a purse snatcher, Raph realised, nothing too dangerous._

_Pleading puppy dog eyes drifted across Raph's vision as Casey took off across the rooftop in the direction the hapless snatcher had run in._

"_What are ya doin', Raph?" Casey yelled out, half in annoyance, half in concern._

_Raph blinked back the phantom image, automatically pushing his body to catch up with his best friend. He palmed a pair of shuriken from his belt pouch as he ran and threw both with unerring accuracy. The first snagged hold of the criminal master-mind's jacket, pinning it deftly to the nearby lamp-pole that he was running past hard enough that it caused the moron to swing half around it as he was yanked harshly in place. He slammed the side of his head solidly into it, making him somewhat wobbly on his feet. The second caught the handbag the idiot was carrying, ripping it out of the guy's hand and affixing it firmly to the ground._

_Casey half slid, half ran down the ladder on the side of the building to make sure the thief didn't recover fast enough to get away again while Raph watched from above, knowing he couldn't go down into the well lit, semi crowded street below. As he waited, Raph found himself uncharacteristically fidgety; an uncomfortable, vaguely... guilty feeling creeping across his mind and body; a feeling, he realised upon reflection, that he had been carrying since he left the lair. Before now however, he was too busy moving to really notice._

_Several minutes later, Casey was back by Raph's side. "Sure ya not comin' down with somethin'? Ya head's not in the game tonight, Raph."_

_Raph stared at Casey for a moment with his intense, golden gaze. "Actually, sorry Case. I think I'm just gonna go home. Got somethin' I gotta take care of."_

"_More important than this?" Casey asked, tilting his hockey mask up on his head with one hand while waving out over the street below with the other._

"_Yeah," Raph smiled tightly. "I'll catch up wi..."_

_Another terrified scream ripped through the night, immediately chilling Raph to the bone. Neither he nor Casey wasted any time; they tore off in the direction of the shrill shrieks. _

_\- . - . -_

_A little over four hours later, Raphael crept silently into the lair, thoroughly exhausted. The quiet_ _night had quickly turned into a rough one, erupting into bloody violence. A couple nearly died, beaten half to death by a group of drunk teens by the time he and Casey managed to get to them. The paramedics who eventually turned up had blamed that and many more incidents on the full moon, according to Casey._

_Mikey was still on the lounge where Raph had left him nearly five hours previously and he was obviously asleep, hanging awkwardly off the couch with remnants of a lonely expression filling his usually jubilant features. For a few minutes, Raph stood a short distance behind, just watching. He glanced tiredly up at the television screen where Mikey's character was floating on the spot, long dead. By the look of it, Mikey hadn't even made much progress into the game and his snacks were almost untouched on the table in front. Raph felt a flash of guilt over not coming home afterall but he quickly quashed it. Things had been messy on the surface that night and if he and Casey hadn't been there... Raph vigorously shook his head, dismissing the memories of what they had seen and made up his mind to make it up to Mikey._

_There was always tomorrow night._

\- . - . -

Only tomorrow night had never come... That was the day of the latest invasion of their city, their planet and not everyone had made it home...

\- . - . -

_Raphael violently shook his genius brother, desperate to get his attention. "Donatello! Don! Come on! _Don_!" He and Leo had raced frantically into the room, following the gut wrenching screams they heard from a few corridors away only to find Donatello out of control, wild emotion taut throughout his body and firing one of the alien guns he didn't even know Donnie had. There hadn't even been anything left alive in the room by the time they'd arrived._

_Finally, Donatello limply dropped the energy weapon and trepidatiously raised his eyes to meet his younger brother's, his now _only_ younger brother, barely noticing an anxious Leo hovering just behind Raph._

"What_ happened? _Where's_ Mikey?" Raph pressed fiercely, trying to hide the sudden terror he felt rippling through him._

_Donatello didn't respond at first. His mouth moved silently like a gaping goldfish's as he shook uncontrollably; his breathing fast and shallow. Donnie's eyes slowly strayed to the side and down to rest on the remaining belongings of their youngest brother on the ground nearby._

"_Don?" Leo prodded apprehensively._

"_... my fault... it's all my fault..."_

\- . - . -

To be continued


	14. Chapter 13

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'. Please Read &amp; Review. ConCrit always welcomed.

Review Responses:

Some people were under the impression that Donnie killed 2k3 Mikey by accident. This is not the case as you can see if you go back to the start of ch 8. There is a flashback from Donnie's POV there clearly showing Mikey pushing him out of the way, saving his life. Donnie has a case of survivor's guilt due to this...

To Anonymous: You can find out what happened to the two Kraang bots if you read 'Tsumetai' which is a sidefic to this story set in the 2k12 universe.

On Wednesday, I'll be putting up an 'AOtGO' one shot sidefic titled 'Fools'.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch – 13

"Raph?" Donnie questioned, not seeing his hot-headed brother.

"Gone." Leo answered grimly. "We're on our own."

"It may be nothing, Leo."

"I know but he hasn't moved in two hours. I don't know about you Don but I really do not want to take that chance. Michelangelo is a born trouble magnet."

"Most of which he creates himself." Donnie added with grim amusement.

The two brothers started their Sewer Sliders and took off, accelerating quickly; the wash from their rides leaving a clear, wet trail behind them. Other than the obvious engine noise, which Donnie had never been able to completely quieten, they rode in silence as they traversed the watery tunnels. Finally, they travelled as far as they were able with the Sliders and disengaged the engines, running the rest of the way silently on foot.

Leonardo soon reached an obviously little used section of the tunnels that held old, broken and incomplete train tracks.

"We're almost on the signal." Donnie barely more than breathed to Leo.

Leo leaned over, taking a quick look at the location of the dot on the incomplete map. He nodded and signalled for Donnie to close it off, lest the light from the tracking device give them away. Once done, the two ninja quickly continued forward. Not long after, they came across a wide doorway with a number of rusty turnstiles across its width.

Donnie and Leo crept up on either side of the entrance, peering intently inside and seeing no sign of life. There was however, a very faint glow of light emanating from inside one of the rooms to the right. Leo extended his senses keenly into the gloom but was unable to detect any movement within. Donnie reached into his duffel, pulling out a set of infra-red goggles and putting them on. He caught Leo's attention wordlessly and pointed towards the stairs leading to the room with the dim light. The two turtles dashed across the space and up the stairs without a sound, staring inside carefully from the sides. Donnie gazed around, looking meticulously over every corner of the room but the only heat signature within was that of a body in the middle towards the back. The heat was lower than that of a human or any other warm blooded being so the two brothers relaxed their vigilance and headed in, Donnie pulling out a torch and shining the beam on Michelangelo as they dashed towards him.

Just as the two reached Michelangelo's side, the younger turtle stirred, sitting up on top of the torn and dirty blankets he had been laying curled up on. He blinked up at Leo and Donnie in confusion, squinting into the bright torchlight. "Why are you dudes here?"

Leonardo bristled, his intense relief at seeing Michelangelo safe and alive making way for anger. "We could ask the same of you, Michelangelo! It has been nearly _five_ _hours_ since you left to go _skating_ and we had to come looking for you, only to find you asleep on the floor of who knows where the shell this is! Why didn't you answer your phone?"

Michelangelo stared at Leo in surprise before fumbling in his belt for his T-phone. "Heh! Silent mode. Sorry Leo." He bounced lightly to his feet, looking sheepishly from Leo to Donnie and back again. Realisation dawned on his face when he noticed the combination of relief and anger. "Wait... you dudes were actually worried about me?" Mikey asked incredulously.

"Of course we were!"

"Sorry..." Mikey mumbled, cowed. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Donnie looked around the large space again, shining his torch into every nook and cranny curiously. "What are you doing here anyway? What happened to skating?"

"Well, at first I was skating, exploring the area around your home but before I knew it, I was further away than I meant to go and just a couple of tunnels away from here." Mikey shrugged. "Then I thought, since I was here, I should leave that message here too. I still had your marker, D." Reaching into his belt, Mikey pulled out the thick, black texta and passed it to Donnie who automatically dropped it back into his bag.

"Why didn't you head back after that?" Leo asked, looking towards the pile of raggedly blankets and towels on the ground.

"I just wan-" Mikey desperately hoped the other two didn't notice the crack in his voice even as he filled his face with a cheerful smile, "-ted to be close to home for a bit. I thought maybe if I tried meditating I could get through to my family, let them know I'm okay... but I guess I fell asleep again," he laughed.

Leo and Donnie exchanged looks which were missed by the smaller mutant who was gazing wistfully towards an alcove at the side of the large room.

"So in your dimension, this is where you live?" Donnie asked curiously. He continued at Michelangelo's nod, "and this is where you stayed before we found you?"

"... Yeah."

"It doesn't look like much," Leo observed.

"It could with some work though." Donnie added, his mind racing as he thought of the possibilities.

Mikey grinned brightly at Leo, "Dude, that's because you can only see it how it looks and not how it actually is!"

"That doesn't exactly make much sense." Leo replied dryly.

Mikey laughed, "Makes perfect sense to me, Leo." He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, as if inhaling the scents of home. "This room's our dojo. Daylight comes through the grate up there, made brighter by the mirrors Donnie put up there." Mikey pointed towards the hole in the ceiling that the faint light was coming through, eyes remaining closed and the other two turtles looked in amazement where he motioned.

"Right underneath that is a really _huge_ tree. On that wall there," Mikey turned slightly, still pointing, "is Master Splinter's shrine to Tang-Shen and Miwa. Over there and behind beautiful rice paper screens is Master Splinter's room." Another turn pointed out the alcove Michelangelo had been staring towards a couple of minutes previously.

"The entire floor in here, except for just around the tree is covered in multi-coloured rugs."

Michelangelo beckoned with his hand and wandered out the room, practically bouncing down the steps. He led them through the entire place, pointing out and describing each room in such exquisite detail with his words that he may as well have painted them a picture or shown them a photo, they could imagine the scene so clearly.

As Michelangelo gave his tour, he kept his eyes shut; a dreamy expression and a light smile gracing his freckled features the entire time. As he walked he easily sidestepped and dodged every obstacle or piece of rubbish on the floor with so little effort that Leo was almost tempted to deliberately move something into his path just to see if it was natural ability or if Michelangelo had memorised the place in those eight days he had been here alone.

Mikey finished up his tour in the room where Donatello's workshop should have been and opened his eyes again, grinning at the turtle in purple who was gazing around the extensive space in absolute astonishment.

"This is really where his lab is? It's so spacious!" Donnie breathed in wonder, imagining all he could do with an area like this.

"Well, this is all great but we should get back soon." Leo interrupted, wanting to get back. He felt that enough time had been wasted here.

Mikey stared at Leo again, "Did you guys walk all the way here? How did you find me anyway?"

"We rode the sewer sliders most of the way, though we had to leave them a few tunnels over." Donnie replied. "As for finding you, I tracked the GPS on your T-phone."

"Based on a couple of nights ago however, I am fairly certain I could have tracked you without Don's tech but this way was a lot faster." Leo added. "You and I will have to have a little talk about covering your tracks better."

Mikey went silent and looked away from Leonardo. Donnie took pity on the smaller turtle and said, "Ignore Leo. He could track a single fly down among a swarm of them if he so chose. Neither Raph nor I would likely have noticed."

"Then that simply means you need more training."

"You say that about nearly everything." Donnie groaned before noticing the ever so slight glint of amusement on Leo's face.

\- . - . -

"Ah good, you are home." Splinter greeted as Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo returned. He looked to each in turn, then focused on Leonardo. "Is Raphael not with you, my son?"

"No, he left on his Shellcycle before we did, Master Splinter." Leonardo explained.

"I see." Splinter's ears partially flattened on his head. "Please attempt to call him home. I wish to speak to you all. In the meantime, if you have not eaten, I suggest you do so. Please come get me when Raphael returns."

"Yes, Sensei." Leo bowed and pulled out his Shell-cell to call his wayward brother home.

\- . - . -

The first six times his Shell-cell rang, Raph ignored it, just continuing to sit back, leaning against the tree and staring up toward the stars. Finally, the seventh time it started, he groaned, realising – probably Leo – wasn't going to give up.

"What?"

"_Raph, about time you answered. Master Splinter wants you to come home. He wants to talk to all of us about something._" Leo spoke on the other end.

Raph was silent. Last thing he wanted was to return home just yet but he couldn't ignore a request from Master Splinter.

"_Raph, did you hear me_?"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you, Fearless. Gonna take a while to get back though."

"_Where are you_?"

"Took a long ride out of the city. It'll take nearly two hours to get back." Raph replied.

The sigh from the other end of the line was obvious. "_Well, you better get moving then. Don't stop for anything._"

Raph smirked momentarily as he hung up and settled back against the tree for another half hour before having to head home again.

\- . - . -

After Raph returned home at last, Leo looked up from his book, stood and without a word went to let Splinter know everyone was now here. Within minutes all four turtles, three brothers and one from another reality were summoned and kneeling in front of their guardian and sensei who stood there quietly contemplating the foursome.

"As you are no doubt aware, training the last two days has not gone entirely smoothly."

Splinter's ears flattened on his head in displeasure as three heads turned to stare at a suddenly uncomfortable Michelangelo. "Do _not_ lay blame on one when four are the problem."

The three older turtles faced front again, chastised.

Now Splinter had their combined attention once more. "For whatever the reason may be, Michelangelo's training has been different to yours, my sons. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it is merely different. The three of you need to learn to work _with_ him and you, Michelangelo, must also learn to work _with_ my sons."

Mikey nodded numbly.

"Michelangelo, while you are with us, you will spend at least one hour a day with either Leonardo, Donatello or Raphael, learning from them the use of their weapons. This will also be a good exercise in bonding between you all. Each day will be a different brother in turn." Splinter turned to lock eyes with an obviously annoyed Raphael. "There is to be no exceptions to this."

"Yes Sensei..." Raph sighed, acquiescing reluctantly.

"We do not know how long Michelangelo will be our guest but as it could very well be the better part of a year you _must_ all learn to work together."

"Furthermore, until I am convinced the four of you can support one another, there will be no topside excursions. You may still stop by Miss O'Neil's to visit or pick up supplies. You are however, restricted to using the underground access tunnel."

Raph's head snapped towards Splinter's in alarm. "What? That's not fair, Master Splinter! I'll go nuts trapped down here and how am I supposed to hang with Casey?"

Splinter suppressed a sigh, "I am not preventing Mr Jones from visiting here or meeting you at Miss O'Neil's home. He is there often anyway, as you know. However, you will not go on the streets or rooftops with him or at all."

\- . - . -

To be continued


	15. Chapter 14

Word count : 4857. Big one this time XD

A/N: On April 1st, I released a one shot called 'Fools'. It is an 'AOtGO' tie-in, set nearly 2 months after the loss of 2k3 Mikey.  
There is also a couple of short notes at the end of this chapter.

Greys-Giovana on Deviant Art drew two amazing pieces of fanart for this story. One is a scene from Chapter 10 which is the new cover art for this story on FFNet, the other an awesome overall story cover. There are links to her and her art on my profile. Please check them out :-)

Review responses to anon:

Guest: Yes, Mikey is my fave, specifically 2k3 Mikey. As to what happened to him, there are hints through this story and 'Fools'. The full story will be revealed eventually.

Anonymous: The plan is to get 2k12 Mikey home when they get the chance. As long as nothing too bad happens to him before that...

Guest: Sorry, I lost my momentum with writing this last Dec when I had to put my laptop in for servicing. Don't worry though, the full story has been plotted out since Sept last year. It _will_ all be written.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch - 14

"Come on Leo, pleeaase!" Michelangelo cajoled. The younger turtle could see Leo's resolve weakening so he continued to press, widening his eyes ever so slightly for maximum effect and allowing them to shimmer slightly with tears he had no need or intention to allow fall. "I'm so bored, Leo! I've already read every comic book in this place."

"Michelangelo..."

"You really don't wanna be stuck alone with me when I'm bored," he added.

Leo sighed and Mikey felt elated, knowing he was getting to the older turtle. He held Leo's gaze fast, not allowing his own hangdog expression to slip. "It's been two looong, whole weeks Leo."

"Master Splinter doesn't want any of us topside until he believes we can work together." Leo stated stiffly. "You know this."

"I don't want to look for trouble, I just wanna go skating on the rooftops," Mikey whined. "I _need_ some fresh air."

In Mikey's opinion the previous couple of weeks had gone by extremely slowly. He and his brothers had never left the sewers in their first fifteen years and then finally they got their chance nearly a year ago and never looked back, except for after that first run in with Shredder of course... So to be stuck down here for what felt like no real reason for so long particularly rankled at him and he knew he wasn't the only one.

The movie and game collection here was far more extensive than back home, as was the comic collection. That had surprised Mikey after hearing about the loss of their previous homes. It seemed though that April and Casey had helped them rebuild, buying things cheaply from various garage sales and second hand stores, not to mention the fact that Leo had told him they managed to salvage a small amount of things from the devastation of their last home. Still, there was only so much television and games Mikey could play without getting twitchy and bored. He needed the freedom to move!

Overall during this time, Donatello mostly sequestered himself into his lab, rarely interacting with anyone unless he needed to or April was visiting. As far as anyone could tell, he mostly studied the scans he had taken at the warehouse that Mikey had taken them to.

Much to Mikey's displeasure, the only times when not training, eating or sleeping that Donnie really interacted with him was when he was checking Mikey over for any physical or biological differences that he might need to know about for any emergency that might come up. However, while he was generally friendly enough during those times, Donnie still kept as much of a physical and emotional distance as possible, leaving Mikey feeling extremely hurt and lonely. Back home, he had always been closest with Donnie so Mikey felt this avoidance the worst.

Leonardo spent the most time with the younger turtle over those couple of weeks but even that wasn't a lot, leaving Mikey alone much of the time. Leo did try several times to help Mikey with meditation to attempt to reach his family via the Astral Plain but it never went well, leaving Leo frustrated and Mikey bored and sleepy.

And a bored Mikey was something no one really wanted to deal with for that was when the pranks began.

To his delight, Michelangelo had found the brightly painted box of prank supplies in his room early on. His most frequent attempted target was Leonardo, simply because Leo was usually the most tolerant of his presence but his success rate was extremely hit and miss. The only turtle he didn't try anything on was Donnie. Mikey could see that Donatello was in no state to handle pranks well so he made sure to leave him well out of it, except for that one time Donnie accidentally got caught in the middle. That really hadn't gone well. Donnie didn't lash out or anything, he just became even quieter and wasn't seen again until the next day. It had been obvious the purple attired turtle didn't sleep that night and he had been distant and uncommunicative throughout the day.

Then there was Raphael...

Back home, Mikey always loved picking on Raph the most. He always had the most intense and funniest reactions to being pranked or even just annoyed in general. Raph was by far the easiest in his family to bait. This dimension's Raph though... Mikey was sure that under normal circumstances that he would probably react much the same as his own volatile brother but this Raph only interacted with him when there was no choice, during training or minimally at meals. The rest of the time, he made it abundantly clear he wanted nothing to do with the much younger turtle.

Mikey did however prank him on three separate occasions or at least he tried to The first time he caught the hot tempered turtle completely by surprise and Raph reacted extremely badly. He was downright vicious and it took both Leo and Donnie to try to pry him off, leaving Mikey with severe bruising. It was over a week before Mikey felt insane enough to try again.

The second attempt left Raph giving Mikey a condescending look and the threat that if he tried again he would drag Mikey far from the lair so that neither of his brothers would be around to help the dimensionally displaced turtle. That was also the first time Raph snuck topside against Splinter's wishes since the law was laid down. The third time Mikey tried, Raph somehow seemed to know beforehand and dodged, then left the lair for topside again without a word.

April came down to visit a few times, bringing snacks and groceries, even a couple of the latest DVD releases for a movie night. Even though Mikey could tell she missed their Mikey a lot too, she at least seemed to act normally around him, completely fascinated by him and the differences between their worlds. She asked questions that frequently had Donnie sitting up and paying attention, even if he didn't comment or ask his own very often. In turn, April told Mikey about a few of their adventures in this and other worlds.

Mikey grinned at Leo cheekily, "If I was home, dude, Master Splinter would be _telling_ us to get out by now, before we drove him crazy." Snickering, he quickly added, "or broke stuff."

Leo's expression turned sour, "You don't exactly need to be reminded that you aren't home right now, Michelangelo so that argument won't work here. Besides, you _are_ allowed out of the lair, as long as you stay within the sewers and close to home."

"Not the same thing, Leo," Mikey pouted. "You know, I survived on my own for over a week, even though it did suck and it's not like I'd be patrolling or making a music video about dancing pizzas, just chillaxing with my board! I was allowed to do that back home on my own too..."

"I'm sorry, Michelangelo but until Master Splinter says otherwise, we are all grounded below ground." Leo stated firmly, wishing like shell that their visitor would go find something else to do other than bother him while he was trying to regain his centre.

"Doesn't stop Raph..." Mikey muttered below his breath.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

Mikey shook his head emphatically. "Nothing cuz!" Suddenly he smiled, "You know, it's cool Leo. I'll just go visit April instead. I asked her to grab me some stuff for new pranks. She might even have them by now." All but skipping, Mikey left Leo's side, intending to grab his skateboard from the room he was using. He hid his snicker at the sudden alarm he felt emanating from Leo.

"Wait!"

Mikey paused then turned, showing only his most mischievous expression.

"I'll... I'll speak to Master Splinter." Leo acquiesced reluctantly. "You and I work together fairly well most of the time now, at least we do when you bother to focus. As long as we agree to stay away from trouble, he might allow us to go up for some... fun."

'Gotchya!' Mikey thought ecstatically, feeling victorious as Leo seemed to choke on the final word. He made sure to keep his burgeoning triumphant grin from gracing his features though as he nodded slowly, "Okay dude, I'll wait while you ask."

Leo gave Michelangelo a sidelong glance as he stood and trudged away to go speak with Splinter. He knew full well he'd been played but realised the threat was very real. If Michelangelo hadn't actually asked their human friend for help, he would be sure to do so in the near future and that was something he definitely wanted to avoid.

\- . - . -

Somersaulting up over the final rung of the rickety fire-escape, Michelangelo whooped loudly with pure excitement as he landed perfectly on the rooftop. He gazed around, eyes bright as Leo followed far more sedately.

"Will you keep quiet?" Leonardo hissed, extremely annoyed. "Mission or not, we are ninja. Ninja are _silent_!"

"Chillax Leo," Mikey beamed. "You gotta learn how to have fun, dude."

"I know how to have fun but being in the human world is not the place for it." Leo retorted quietly.

Mikey shook his head, his smile turning sad, "Meditating and training's not 'fun', no matter what you and Leo think." He turned away to gaze out over the rooftops and get his bearings.

Leo rubbed his forehead painfully. "I really do wish you wouldn't do that, Michelangelo."

"Do what, dude?" Mikey asked, turning to Leo in confusion.

"Talk about our counterparts and ourselves in the same sentence without making it clear who you mean."

Mikey gawked in disbelief for a second then laughed, "It was pretty obvious. You're the only one here and I was taking about you _and_ my bro."

"This time perhaps but what about every other time?" Leonardo pointed out. "You do it all the time."

Mikey stayed silent a few moments before finally walking off and muttering, "Just because I'm stuck here with you doesn't mean I'm going to put my own family out of my mind. I'm not like you..."

Leo gaped after the turtle in orange, unsure if he had heard correctly or not but he couldn't bring himself to question Michelangelo. Some truths just hit too hard.

Moments later, Mikey stood by the parapet on the roof, forcing a grin back onto his face. The night was perfect and he was _free! _What wasn't there to feel good about? Without looking back, he pointed out across the skyscrapers and called, "This way, Leo! I found some really awesome roof skating spots a bunch of blocks that way!"

"Michelangelo, if you don't keep your voice down, we will be returning directly to the lair!" Leonardo warned quietly in exasperation as he silently stepped in beside the much younger turtle. He was really beginning to regret being out here alone with Michelangelo, even if it was for a good cause.

Mikey's mouth hung open in shock and he went to speak, only to be interrupted by Leo.

"I am being deadly serious," Leonardo insisted. "We have far too many enemies in this city to risk drawing attention to ourselves tonight. Especially without a full team."

"I wouldn't know, would I? None of you have told me anything about this world." Mikey pointed out. "I've only heard a few stories from April and I know that's not even the major stuff you keep hinting at... But then again, you dudes barely talk to me except when you have to..."

"It's not personal, Michelangelo. It's just hard."

"I _know_, Leo. I can tell that _every_ time anyone even says my _name_!" Mikey retorted, trying so hard to hide his hurt and failing miserably in the process. "But you and the others, you really gotta know. The heart is fragile and if you keep hiding and burying your pain, maybe it'll help for a while dude but sooner or later if you don't relieve the pressure, it's gonna overflow and then it'll get _really_ messy!"

Leo sighed. He really didn't want to hear this, especially not from Michelangelo. The words themselves didn't sound like his brother's but the incite itself did. Hearing it was like being kicked in the chest.

"I don't even mean you need to talk to me about stuff, dude, though I'd definitely listen if you actually wanted to. You've got family and friends who are hurting too. Don't you think they deserve the chance to spill too?" Michelangelo suggested sincerely, looking up into Leo's eyes.

"Besides," Mikey suddenly grinned, "you know the saying, better out than in, man!" He belched, long and loud, the sound reverberating through the alley below.

Leonardo shook his head in disgust, "Really Michelangelo, did you _have_ to?"

"Cheese, garlic and marshmallow pizza dude! Yeah, I really had to!"

"I think we need to convince April to give you some cooking lessons. Some ingredients really do not belong together." Leo said dryly.

Mikey laughed, happy at finally lightening the mood. He quickly took a running jump to the next roof, throwing his skateboard under his feet as he came down for the landing.

\- . - . -

A couple of hours of skating later, Mikey felt satisfied and he noticed even Leo seemed far more relaxed than any time since they'd met. While Mikey had performed tricks and jumps across the nearby rooftops, Leo had kept a sharp eye out in the area all around, eventually loosening up enough to lay back, gazing peacefully at the clouds scudding across the cool night sky.

Mikey drifted over to Leo on his skateboard and stopped, leaning over him with a broad but mellow grin firmly in place, "We can head back now if you like or just stay here looking at the sky and chill a bit longer."

Leo actually smiled back and Mikey thought it looked really nice; he definitely needed to do it more often.

"No, we really should be getting back but it was actually pleasant to get out for a while. Hopefully next time it can be all four of us."

"Heh! That'd be awesome, Leo but I don't know how long we'd have to wait for next time since Raph seems to hate me so much."

Shaking his head, Leo said, "Raph doesn't hate you, Michelangelo. He just doesn't want to know you. He and Mikey were close... No one else could aggravate him quite like Mikey but at the same time, no one else could get through to him as easily when he needed it the most," Leo admitted as he jumped lightly to his feet. "They made a really good team, whether it was in ninjutsu or mischief."

"Really?" Mikey asked, incredulous.

"Yes. Surely it was the same for you in your dimension?"

"Not really. Well, the aggravating part for sure!" Mikey snickered before sobering. "Until the last couple of months, I was always paired off with Donnie, though I guess even he started getting sick of me. There was one night a few months back that no one wanted me with them, even argued about it in front of me."

Leo waited as Michelangelo went silent.

Eventually, Mikey started speaking again. "Been paired with Raph a bit in the last couple of months though. He can be mean a lot but he's got a good heart. You just have to dig down to get to it. It's like digging for buried treasure."

Michelangelo stopped talking again, staring off in the direction of Central Park and not seeming as if he would continue so Leo began leading the way back, making the younger turtle stash his skateboard for the return journey.

For a number of blocks, their run home was silent until Leo suddenly stopped, calling out softly to Michelangelo. Mikey trotted over to where Leo stood surveying the parking lot of a nearby building.

"What's up, dude?" Mikey ventured, miraculously with his voice low. "I thought we were only allowed out tonight if we stayed away from trouble?"

Leo nodded, sharp eyes fixed on the scene below. "That was before we came across Purple Dragons."

Mikey looked down, gulping uneasily. He knew the villainous gang was far larger here; that had been made obvious during his time alone. However, he'd never seen this many before and certainly not all at once. This crowd made them actually look like a serious threat in this world. "There must be thirty of them down there, Leo." Mikey commented nervously.

"I count forty two." Leo replied almost distantly. "What I want to know is what they are doing at a research facility..." The blue masked turtle leaned forward, though still keeping to the shadows.

Mikey continued to stare. He and his brothers had been up against greater numbers than that on many occasions but they hadn't been human. They had been Footbots or Kraang; beings that they didn't need to worry about being gentle with. Leo suddenly took in a sharp breath and Mikey whipped his head around to look wide-eyed and worried at the older turtle.

"Hun..." Leonardo almost hissed.

"Who's Hun?"

Silence prevailed for a few heartbeats before Leo answered. "Hun is the leader of the Purple Dragons. Before Shredder was... dealt with, Hun was also one of Shredder's top lieutenants, second only after Karai."

The two ninja watched carefully as Hun and the large group of Purple Dragons broke into the facility and disappeared from sight, leaving only a small handful of gang members outside to watch for interference.

"So Hun leads the Dragons and is a ninja too?" Mikey screwed up his face, contemplating the horrible thought.

Leo gave a sharp shake of his head, even as he pulled out his shell-cell. "Hun is no ninja but don't let that fool you. He is fast, incredibly strong and extremely dangerous. Not even Raphael can break free of his grasp easily if grabbed."

Mikey watched Leo dial while Leonardo kept watching the ground below. Moments later, the katana wielding turtle started speaking quietly into the microphone.

"Don, Michelangelo and I are at a rooftop nearby the Petra Research Facility watching Hun and just over forty Purple Dragons break in." Leo paused for a few moments, listening to the other end.

"Yes...

"Don!... Would you possibly have any idea what they could be after?"

Mikey began fidgeting as he listened to the seemingly one sided conversation. This may not have been his Leo but he easily recognised the same determination inherent within his voice and stance. He glanced worriedly down below while straining his hearing, trying uselessly to hear what Donnie was saying on the other end of the line.

"Call Raph and both of you get here asap. We cannot ignore this," Leo commanded, voice still low.

…

"No, we can't wait for you. Michelangelo and I will head inside. We'll wait for you in there if we can but if Hun gets his hands on it, we will need to act, whether you and Raph are here yet or not."

Mikey's eyes widened but he drew himself up, determined to prove himself after two weeks of being looked down upon, insulted and ignored.

Leo put the shell-cell away, looking up at Michelangelo, "From what Don found out, there is an experimental chemical inside that building that when it comes into contact with a person's skin causes them to go into a highly suggestive state, something like hypnosis."

Mikey cringed with guilt, remembering back to when he was about seven or eight when he had tried hypnotising Raph. He hadn't really known what he was doing at the time and Raph had nearly died as a result. "We can't let the bad guys get something like that, Leo," he said anxiously.

Leonardo nodded. "My thought exactly. It would be far too dangerous in the hands of someone like Hun. We cannot afford to wait for Don and Raph. I'm going to need your help but I need to know I can count on you."

Indignation filled Mikey, "Of course you can, dude!"

Leo nodded distantly, already looking back towards the neighbouring building. "We need to get in there and _silently_ take out each Dragon we come across; take them out of the fight so that Hun can't rely on them. He's enough trouble on his own without having numbers on top of that."

Mikey swallowed, "By take them out... you just mean to knock them out... right Leo?"

Leo glanced down regretfully at the more innocent turtle, "Of course. Though if it comes down to you or them, make sure you do whatever you _need_ to do to survive."

Mikey nodded numbly.

"I need you to focus in there, Michelangelo," Leo insisted. "I'm going to need you but if you can't do that, I'll go in alone and you can wait out here."

"You can count on me, Leo!" Mikey insisted, clutching at his still sheathed nunchuku determinately.

Satisfied, Leo began moving to the target building. "Good to know. Let's go," he said quietly.

\- . - . -

Michelangelo and Leonardo quickly and silently made their way through the building, entering from a large skylight in the roof. Mikey struggled to stay on his best behaviour and not be distracted by anything. He knew Leo and his brothers didn't think very much of him and he needed to show them he could be useful. He'd had a hard enough time showing his brothers back home and yet they were still constantly surprised whenever he managed to do something right. He hated having to start all over again here.

It wasn't his fault these turtles were four years older than him and far more experienced. It also wasn't his fault he had such a hard time keeping his mind on only one thing at a time and it wasn't for lack of trying. Donnie suspected he had ADHD and had explained it to him and their father two or three years ago but they never had the resources to confirm it or do much to help. Mikey guessed it was part of why Donnie had always been more tolerant of him than the others.

As the two canvassed the building, they came across many Purple Dragons. Leo took care of the bulk of them but Mikey certainly knocked his fair share out with either a swift chop to the back of the neck or a quick, precise swing of a single nunchuck, depending on how he was able to approach them. Unconscious bodies were quickly dragged into cupboards or small rooms and barricaded inside. By the time the two ninja finally happened across Hun, they had managed to remove twenty eight Dragons from the game, leaving just another ten, the four outside and the infamous leader himself.

Mikey stared curiously at this new adversary. Size wise, Hun was somewhere between Rad Brad and Dogpound, though from what Leo had said, Mikey guessed Hun's speed and strength was probably somewhere approaching Rahzar's. It was a really bad combination, Mikey realised. He couldn't underestimate the walking human mountain but when it came to speed, Mikey knew he was no slouch either.

Leo signalled for Mikey to keep still and stay in the shadows of the ceiling as the two watched the scene below. Mikey nodded, not even trying to get closer to hear better, not after last time. That was how he wound up in this awful mess in the first place.

Hun stood, surveying the scene imperiously as five burly Dragons scurried about the room, one of them searching diligently through a computer. A few coarse and lewd comments were tossed back and forth across the space but nothing of any major import was said. Suddenly the flunky at the computer stood, a confident aura surrounding his form and Hun watched him, a cruel smirk slowly spreading over the gang lord's face as his underling hurried with purpose to a cabinet by one of the walls. As the Dragon rifled through the glass cabinet, Hun stalked over, standing expectantly behind.

Mikey noticed Leo slowly draw his swords, preparing to spring into action and he followed the leader's example.

The minion turned, starting when he realised his nefarious leader was directly behind him, "I've found it, Master Hun!"

Leo gave a sharp nod even as he reacted. He launched himself purposely towards the gangsters, swords already singing through the air at a Purple Dragon who stood between him and Hun. Upon precisely slashing the weapon from his grasp, the Dragon hissed in pain but he didn't let that stop him from going after Leonardo. However, the blue banded leader was already out of range, continuing on his trajectory for Hun.

Following Leo's lead, Mikey raced after the older turtle, both nunchuku whirring at top speed. He snickered at the back of the Dragon chasing Leo, "Wrong turtle, dude!"

The gang member turned to the mocking voice behind him and sneered. His fist was already flying at Mikey's face but the young ninja dodged effortlessly, not even thinking about what he was doing. He smashed the handle of his nearest weapon into the top of the Dragon's hand and a vicious cracking sound filled the air. The Dragon cried out even as Mikey push kicked him hard across the room, causing the man to slam into the wall. Mikey didn't bother to watch as the unconscious criminal slid to the ground; he was already vaulting towards the next Dragon in his path.

As Mikey landed in front of the second Purple Dragon, he was already swinging both weapons at either side of the human's head. A third hoodlum converged on him, managing to strike a glancing blow with a metal pipe to one arm. Mikey yelped but managed to keep hold of his weapon despite his suddenly numb arm. He lashed out with a side kick before abruptly spinning and kicking the second Dragon out of his way.

The third Dragon, the one with the pipe, collected himself, recovering quickly from the kick and rushed at the turtle, swinging his weapon almost wildly. Mikey's eyes widened as he dodged, only to get caught by another gang member from behind. For a moment, Mikey strained forward before suddenly switching tack and pushing backwards instead, knocking his assailant off balance. He quickly followed up with an elbow to the Dragon's gut and whipped one nunchuku back for a head-shot, simultaneously striking at the Dragon in front with the clutched handles of the other, motionless weapon. The Dragon collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath and Mikey took the chance to quickly render the goon unconscious. For a moment, the young ninja stood breathing heavily and trying to put the pain of his now aching arm out of his mind.

Mikey's eyes wandered across the scene, catching sight of Leo up against both Hun and the fifth Purple Dragon. Mikey gasped with sudden realisation, remembering the fight was still going and that Leo needed him.

He raced towards the ongoing fight, arriving just as Leo dispatched the fifth Dragon before turning full attention on the gang leader. Mikey came to a halt just out of Leo's immediate katana reach, both chucks whirling; ready. Leo gave a tiny nod of acknowledgement as Hun turned his head, regarding Mikey with contempt filling his face.

"Where'd the new freak come from?" Hun sneered and Mikey shifted his gaze momentarily to Leo.

Taking advantage of Mikey's brief distraction, Hun lunged, faster than Mikey had expected despite Leo's earlier warning. Before Mikey had time to react, Hun had grabbed his arm with one meaty hand in a vice-like grip. He yanked him forwards, towards his body.

Mikey flailed, desperate to escape Hun's unbreakable grip. No matter how many break techniques he tried, he couldn't wrench free and within moments, he found himself held tightly against the walking blond mountain. Mikey began choking from the force of the thick arm pressing solidly against his windpipe.

"I suggest you keep your distance, mutant, unless you want me to snap this freak's neck." The huge man laughed cruelly.

Mikey desperately tried to keep his eyes open as they naturally squeezed shut from the pain. He was barely able to make out Leo's expression.

Thanks to Hun's threat, the older turtle stood there watching helplessly. A cold, dark rage filled Leo's features and Mikey couldn't help but shudder. He'd never even seen Raph look quite like that before. Mikey whimpered slightly, desperate homesickness surging through him.

"Le...o..." Mikey choked out and Leo's gaze somehow both hardened and softened at the same time but it wasn't him that the younger turtle was calling for. Mikey was terrified he would never see his real family again and as the darkness began to descend over his vision, all he wanted was his oldest brother.

\- . - . -

to be continued

* * *

Notes: Any vague similarities to current storylines on the 2k12 toon are purely coincidental. I have had this story plotted since Aug/Sept of 2014 and I will not change major things now just to avoid said similarities. It would mean changing too much from this point on and I don't want to re-plan the whole thing. Besides, despite vague similarities, this story will NOT be the same.

Mikey's memory of hypnotising Raph is based on a one shot I wrote last year. Go read 'Cowabunga' if you haven't and want to know more. On FFNet, 'Cowabunga' is by far the most popular one shot I have written. :-)

Thank you as always for you support and comments. It keeps me inspired!


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'. Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

A/N: A week ago I posted a side fic for the 2k12 side of this story. '24 Days' is concurrent with the end of ch 14 of 'AOtGO'.

Review response to anon:

Guest 13th May: Yes, I chose to do a 2 week skip and only glossed over the fact that Donnie checked Mikey out for various differences in their anatomy in that. Rest assured, he has checked out many of those differences you mentioned and some of it will be mentioned in upcoming chapters. A couple of the differences you mentioned were ones I hadn't noticed myself and I'll be sure to bear them in mind :-) Maybe it wasn't made clear enough and if so, sorry about that, but when it was mentioned he wasn't asking questions outside of training, meals and him studying Mikey's differences (which Mikey wasn't thrilled about), it was more on the lines of personal and other-dimensional event things, though as said, he did always pay attention when someone else asked.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch - 15

Donatello drummed his fingers as he waited impatiently inside the van, doors open and waiting for Raph to get home. Raphael had claimed to only be about ten minutes away from home but so far, Donnie had been waiting seventeen minutes. He made a mental note to remind his brother about the importance of punctuality when this was over.

Skill wise, Leonardo was the best of them. With the way he worked so hard that came as no surprise but even Leo wasn't infallible and against those odds with only Michelangelo at his side, Donnie was extremely worried. It wasn't that he was discounting Michelangelo's own skill, he had noticed odd bursts of brilliance during practise several times, rather it was the other-dimensional turtle's lack of focus, so much worse than Mikey's had ever been and more so the fact that in a real fight, Michelangelo was an unknown quantity.

The day they originally met him didn't count, in Donnie's opinion. Everyone had been completely thrown off by the shock of coming across each other, bringing to the surface painful memories and unwanted feelings. There was also the fact that the younger turtle had been alone and scared for over a week by then, barely surviving on his own. All Donnie could hope right now was that Michelangelo would actually have his brother's shell during this mission.

Donnie glanced irritably at the clock on the dash. Eighteen minutes. Where the shell was Raph? For a moment he contemplated just leaving and instead making Raph catch up on the Shellcycle whenever he finally returned home.

Hearing a movement in the garage behind him, Donnie started to turn, only to jump as Raph suddenly slid into the seat beside him and slammed the passenger door.

"What the shell are we waitin' for, Don? Let's go!"

Biting back a retort, Donnie started the engine and activated the remote for the garage door. As he put his foot down on the accelerator, he finally asked contentiously, "Where the shell were you, Raphael? You said you were ten minutes away. It's been nineteen. Almost double what you told me when I called you."

"Ran into some trouble on the way back," Raph replied dismissively.

"More important than family?" Donnie pressed as he drove. "Where were you anyway?"

Raph remained silent for a minute before answering reluctantly, "Topside."

"Again?" Donnie sighed. "Master Splinter is going to have your shell if he finds out."

Raph shrugged, not particularly caring. "Not like it even matters. Leo and the imposter are out there."

"They asked! They gave their word not to get into any fights."

Raph snorted.

"If you had at least told me, I could have just met you on the way with the van, Raph."

"I was only sittin' on a nearby rooftop, needed the air. My only problem was the humans who suddenly crowded around near the sewer entrance as I headed back," Raph admitted before suddenly smirking. "So what trouble has ol' Fearless gotten himself into this time?"

Donnie sighed and explained, "Hun and a large group of Purple Dragons broke into a research facility. Leo and Michelangelo spotted them as they were returning home."

"I know Hun's been steppin' up his game since Shredder's been gone but what the shell does he want from a research facility?" Raph asked, screwing up his beak as he wondered.

Donnie was silent for a moment as he drove, accelerating away from the now green light before quietly answering, "Based on what I was able to find out, they are most likely after a morally deficient, experimental chemical that was accidentally created. Leo realised Hun had to be prevented from gaining possession of it."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yes," Donnie replied firmly without specifying.

"An' so naturally he went in there with only that imposter for back up? Is Fearless out of his mind?" Raph asked.

"There was little choice in the matter, Raph. Besides, you and I are their back up." Donnie insisted, deliberately overlooking the insult to their guest. He really didn't want to argue given that their destination was coming up fast.

Donnie pulled off into a side street. Stopping the vehicle, the two turtles quickly jumped out and keeping out of sight, they made their way over to the Petra Research Facility.

"How do you want to play this, Raph? Through the less likely occupied top or the more obvious front entrance?" Donnie asked before noticing Raph smirking with his golden gaze firmly fixed on the Dragons by the front door.

\- . - . -

Mikey desperately tried to keep his eyes open as they naturally squeezed tight from the pain. He was barely able to make out Leo's expression.

Thanks to Hun's threat, the older turtle stood there watching helplessly. A cold, dark rage filled Leo's features and Mikey couldn't help but shudder. He'd never even seen Raph look quite that angry before. Mikey whimpered slightly, desperate homesickness surging through him at the thought.

"Le...o..." Mikey choked out and Leo's gaze somehow both hardened and softened at the same time but it wasn't him that the younger turtle was calling for. Mikey was terrified he would never see his real family again and as the darkness began to descend over his vision, all he wanted was his oldest brother.

_'Michelangelo? Why did you give up so easily?'_

'Master Splinter?' Mikey thought, figuring he was just hearing things as he lost consciousness. The words and tone sounded so familiar but he couldn't immediately place them.

_'I said, why did you give up so easily?'_

'I... didn't... There was nothing... I could do... he was too strong, chichi.'

_'There is always something you can do. Observe.' _

Mikey went limp and forced his eyes open once more, noticing the other-dimensional Leo a couple of meters in front of him and projecting a weird combination of helplessness and barely controlled rage. They locked eyes and then smiling slightly, Mikey shifted as much as he was able and licked the human who held him in such a tight, cruel grip.

Hun cried out in disgust, loosening his hold. It wasn't much but it was enough. Mikey may not have been able to pull free, weak as he felt from being so badly choked but Leonardo took full advantage of the distraction, exploding into action.

Launching himself furiously at Hun, Leo swiftly sheathed a single katana as he moved. Right as he stepped inside the man-mountain's range, Leo simultaneously snap kicked harshly at the human while grabbing hold of Michelangelo with his now free hand. He yanked the younger turtle out of the stumbling Hun's clasp and back behind him.

Leo could hear Michelangelo gasping harshly in the background but he couldn't afford the risk of stopping to check if the other-dimensional turtle was all right. As he attacked Hun in a flurry of kicks and strikes, Leo called out questioningly, "Michelangelo?"

It was all Leo had time for as the leader of the Purple Dragons recovered and started fighting back. He quickly managed to catch hold of Leo's katana between two meaty hands as the turtle slashed his weapon down at Hun.

"...'kay... 'm okay, Leo."

Hun suddenly began to laugh raucously. It wasn't a pleasant sound. "Michelangelo? Seriously? The new freak's name is also Michelangelo?" He laughed harder at the sight of the glare Leo directed at him. "Where'd he come from? Some _desperate_ experiment of your science freak brother's?"

Leo's lip curled back in anger as he kicked Hun mercilessly in the family jewels, pulling his katana free from the man's grip in the same motion.

"That's rich!" Hun continued, acting as though the ninja had never laid a foot on him. He ignored the blood dripping from his palms as he continued to mock, "A failed clone using some left over DNA scraped up from the sewer or perhaps a brand new mutant freak to replace your _dead_, _useless_ brother?"

It was all Leo could do to stay in control of his emotions and form as Hun continued to disrespect the memory of Michelangelo. He redrew his second katana, relentlessly attacking with both weapons.

"It's all so pathetic that I almost hate to break it to you. This lame replacement," Hun laughed again, taking immense pleasure of rubbing it into Leonardo, "is weaker and more useless than the last. I didn't even think that was possible!"

"Shut up, Hun, I'm warning you." Leo finally growled vehemently.

Hun's huge fist slammed into the side of Leo's head, making his vision swim.

"It needs more training. How does it feel," Hun leant forward, sneering into Leo's dazed face, "to wake up every day and face that, knowing the original freak died for nothing and all you are left with is..."

"Leave... leave Leo alone, _Himbo_!" Michelangelo yelled, shooting his kusarigama chain straight out to wrap around Hun's arm, taking the human by surprise. He pulled. Hun pulled back, causing Mikey to slide inexorably towards him.

"Stay out of this, Michelangelo." Leo commanded as he forced himself to recover.

Leo slashed his katana down, slicing through the chain of Michelangelo's weapon and causing him to stumble. Mikey quickly regained his balance and protested. "But Leo, I can..."

"I said to _stay back_!" Leo snapped, far harsher than he intended. "Keep watch for any other Dragons and keep them off my shell."

He heard Michelangelo stomp away petulantly and relief surged through him. Leo couldn't let anything happen to the younger turtle while he was under his care; he'd promised to help him get home.

The fight raged on, neither Leo nor Hun holding back, the turtle doing his best to ignore the vicious human's vitriolic words. Suddenly, a voice called out across the room.

"Boss!"

Leo felt a chill run down his shell as he noticed a sudden smirk filling Hun's face. He chanced glancing around to see Michelangelo standing stock still with a blank expression filling his face and his head hanging slightly.

Shoving the distracted Leo roughly aside, Hun took several rapid steps to where his underling and the younger turtle stood.

The Purple Dragon Leo had knocked out earlier stood grinning obsequiously up at Hun, "Master Hun, I already told the turtle to obey only you."

Leo regained his footing and started running desperately after Hun. "Michelangelo! Get away from Hun _now_!"

"Good," Hun sneered smugly. He leant over the still Michelangelo and whispered into his ear slit, "You will not speak or make any kind of noise. Neither will you respond to anyone's commands other than my own. Do you understand, Freak?"

Michelangelo nodded slowly, otherwise unmoving.

"_Michelangelo! Move!_"

Hun's grin was shark-like. "Take that other freak Leonardo down and do not hold back!"

Leo felt his heart drop in horror, "Oh shell..."

\- . - . -

Donnie and Raph made quick work of the Purple Dragons lingering outside and were methodically making their way through the large facility. As they searched and listened for any sign of their brother and their other-dimensional guest, they only came across a single pair of Dragons who were quickly, yet efficiently dispatched. Soon after, Donnie spied a computer and veered straight towards it, much to Raph's obvious annoyance. Donnie was grateful his brother didn't comment about it however.

"Seems like Fearless didn't leave many for us to play with," Raph observed dryly. "Talk about selfish."

Donnie smiled faintly as he searched for a floor plan and the security footage within the computer terminal. "Of course not Raph. Heaven forbid he allow you to have some fun too."

Raph grunted and Donnie thought it may have been vague amusement. Moments later, the two ninja quickly studied the pulled up floor plans, committing as much to memory as possible before Donnie switched to the security feed, flipping quickly from camera to camera, searching for any sign of movement. They noticed a couple of Dragons moving about, searching for something on the higher floors and noted their general locations, intending to take them down if the opportunity arose. Finally they found the camera showing two mutant turtles, Hun, one concious Dragon and several unconscious littered around the room.

Donnie quickly mentally mapped the route to the location, not paying attention to what was actually happening on the screen as he concentrated. Just as he was about to stand up, task complete, Raph's grip on his shoulder tightened almost painfully as he growled. Startled, Donnie glanced back to the computer monitor and what he saw made his heart clench with dread.

Michelangelo had drawn his kusarigama blade and was running straight at Leo, his face completely emotionless while Hun simply stood there, laughing.

\- . - . -

Leonardo stared at Michelangelo, dismay twisting his gut. The worst had happened. The Dragon flunky that had found the chemical had regained consciousness and used it on Michelangelo and Leo had been unable to prevent it, so caught up in his fight with Hun was he.

He watched as Michelangelo deftly converted his remaining nunchuku to kusarigama even as the younger turtle swiftly ran at Leo. His face was expressionless and Leo could see no sign of life in Michelangelo's eyes as his nictitating eyelids promptly slid into place. Leo suddenly found himself unable to read the younger turtle's movements and a chill ran through him. While he didn't sense any killer instinct, neither could he see any sign of internal struggle. This was a Michelangelo who was one hundred percent focused and Leo was certain that nothing would be able to distract him this time. That didn't mean he wouldn't try though.

"Michelangelo! Don't listen to Hun, you owe him nothing!" Leo commanded as he dodged the attacking ninja. "I know that deep down, you don't want to do this, you don't want to attack me!" Leo sidestepped, crossing his two katana in front of him to halt the deadly arc of Michelangelo's attacking blade. To his utter surprise, the force of the blow sent a shock wave down his arms, jarring them painfully. Leo hadn't realised just how strong the visiting turtle was; he certainly never showed it any time in training during the last couple of weeks.

Leo kept his eyes firmly fixed on Michelangelo's, continuing to try in vain to pick up on any sign of the younger turtle's actions but there was simply nothing! Michelangelo pulled his blade up, away from Leo's swords and he instantaneously swept out with one foot. At the last moment, Leo jumped deftly to the side, avoiding being taken to the ground. He immediately noticed the fist aimed directly at his face and barely managed to block in time.

"I know you don't have any reason to be loyal to us, to me," Leo gasped, desperate to find a way to reach Michelangelo. "I know you haven't felt welcome and we certainly have done a poor job of making you feel wanted... and I'm really sorry but please, Michelangelo, you need to push past this." Leo blocked again but was slightly too slow as the deadly arc of the blade slashed across his right forearm. He could see no sign of recognition in the other turtle's face. No sign of the life and light Michelangelo usually displayed, even when upset and lonely.

"_Michelangelo!_"

Slow heartless laughter filled the air behind Leo and it took everything he had not to turn away from the now deadly other-dimensional turtle who was after his life.

"You are wasting your time, Leonardo," Hun mocked. "That freak belongs to me now and nothing you can say or do will sway him."

"I don't believe him, Michelangelo," Leo insisted to the relentlessly attacking ninja. "I know you are in there. I know this isn't your doing or choice. You can fight this, I _know_ you can!"

But there was no response, no reaction whatsoever other than to continue to strike out viciously and Leo knew he needed to stop merely defending. He needed to go on the offensive or Michelangelo would kill him and then that would kill the younger turtle on the inside. Leo just hoped he could take Michelangelo down without seriously hurting him. Leo shifted his stance to an offensive one and extended his every sense.

Michelangelo suddenly sprang backwards. Then, without missing a beat, dove to Leo's right side in a single handed handspring before switching direction and somersaulting over Leo's head. As good as Leo was, he could hardly keep up with the usually hyperactive Michelangelo. Despite having trained with the other-dimensional turtle everyday over the previous two weeks, Leo had seriously underestimated the unpredictable younger ninja.

Leonardo barely managed to avoid the weighted end of the kusarigama as it flew with lethal accuracy right at where Leo's head was but a moment before. Even as Leo ducked and sidestepped the assault, he realised his mistake when the chain suddenly wrapped around a single katana. Michelangelo wrenched the weapon painfully from Leo's grasp. While Leo regained his balance, Michelangelo simultaneously lashed out with the blade, slicing into his other arm.

Leo grit his teeth, holding in his cry of pain. Right then, Leo hoped like shell that Hun wouldn't suddenly decide to join in. Michelangelo was already far more than enough for him to handle, especially considering he was already injured.

With both arms bleeding and one hand a little numb, Leo shifted his grip on his remaining katana to a stronger, two handed one. Michelangelo suddenly came at Leo again, not letting up even for a second with a vicious axe kick. Luckily Leo's reflexes were still fast enough as he sidestepped out of its path and countered with a sweeping turning kick, hitting out with the flat of his blade. Michelangelo was knocked back to the ground but his weapon's chain was already snaking out, wrapping around Leo's grounded leg. Once more, the orange banded turtle cruelly yanked on the chain. Leo felt something give in his ankle as it twisted and his leg was pulled out from under him. His shell slammed into the ground, leaving him momentarily breathless.

Suddenly, Leo found himself blocking punch after punch as Michelangelo straddled him. Recovering slightly, Leo twisted his hips, throwing Michelangelo off balance and allowing himself to get out from under his aggressor. Panting with barely concealed pain, Leo rolled abruptly to his feet, unable to help but gasp as his weight put pressure on his injured ankle.

There was no time to compensate though. Michelangelo was also back on his feet, just as quickly, if not faster. For just a moment, Michelangelo paused and Leo's heart lifted, hardly daring to hope that maybe the other ninja was hesitating, fighting for self control.

Leo was wrong.

Michelangelo's arm suddenly moved, throwing something straight down at Leo's feet and Leo was immediately engulfed in a thick cloud of purplish smoke. Suddenly the blows rained down from seemingly every direction. Leo was injured, disoriented and for some reason, he still couldn't read the other turtle's movements. At all.

As quickly as the smoke appeared, it began to dissipate. Out of the corner of his eye, Leo caught a flash of movement and unable to duck in time, he was sure he caught sight of Michelangelo's skateboard coming straight at his head.

\- . - . -

to be continued.

A/N: Dialogue from Mikey's brief memory taken from 2k12 S1E21 'Karai's Vendetta'.

Chichi – Japanese for daddy, usually used by little kids. I felt it appropriate to use here due to Mikey feeling homesick and vulnerable.

As stated last chapter, any similarities to recent episodes is purely coincidental; this story has been fully plotted since Aug/Sept of last year. In fact, I deliberately did not watch said episode yet.


	17. Chapter 16

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Beware Raph's mouth! It needs soap. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'. Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

A/N: Two wonderful artists on Deviant Art created art for the last chapter. Whitewolf22 (aka Black Kat Jinx) drew a beautiful scene of Mikey beginning his assault of Leo, which is now the cover art for Ch 15 on DA. Greys-Giovana then drew a gorgeous picture showcasing several points from the same chapter; of Leo facing off against Mikey, Donnie and Raph looking on (from the security footage) and Hun grinning evilly in the background. Sadly, I couldn't use both for the same chapter so that one is the cover art for this chapter (on DA). Please make sure to go check out both the original pictures. There are links to them on my profile. Thank you both so much!

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch - 16

Michelangelo's arm suddenly moved, throwing something straight down at Leo's feet and Leo found himself immediately engulfed in a thick cloud of purplish smoke. Suddenly blows rained down from seemingly every direction. Leo was injured, disoriented and for some reason, he still couldn't read the other turtle's movements. At all.

As quickly as the smoke appeared, it began to dissipate. Out of the corner of his eye, Leo caught a flash of movement and unable to duck in time, he was sure he caught sight of Michelangelo's skateboard coming straight at his head.

\- . - . -

Leonardo collapsed bonelessly onto the ground as Michelangelo watched emotionless. He waited for a moment, then when no signs of movement were forthcoming, he wordlessly dropped his skateboard and turned away. To the background music of Hun's coarse laughter, Michelangelo walked several steps to where his previously dropped kusarigama lay and flicked it up with ease into his waiting hand using a single foot.

Hun watched, delighted as Michelangelo, weapon in hand, went straight back to Leonardo and crouched by the helpless, unconscious turtle laying on the ground. The moment Michelangelo went to slash at the other turtle's throat, Hun called out.

"Stop, Freak!"

Eyes still hidden by his inner, protective eyelids, Michelangelo froze, stock still.

"He's mine to finish." Hun smirked maliciously and began walking the distance to the two mutant turtles. On the way, he stopped to pick up one of Leonardo's fallen katana. Right as he reached Leonardo and Michelangelo's sides, the door crashed open with a loud splintering crash.

"_Get the fuck away from him!_" An enraged bellow filled the room.

Hun looked up, thoroughly annoyed, "The rest of the freaks," he sneered, "should have guessed you'd be close by."

Donnie, entering the room behind Raph, looked upon the scene in barely contained horror; Leonardo unconscious, battered and bleeding on the ground; Michelangelo crouched down beside him, perfectly still and silent, with the usually hidden blade of his weapon slick with blood, held ready to strike at Leo's throat and Hun... Hun stood less than a metre from the pair, clutching one of Leo's favoured weapons and Donatello felt sick as he realised just how close he had just come to losing yet another brother.

Raph didn't waste any time as he furiously ran at the trio. He savagely kicked Michelangelo away from Leo, all but shaking with abject fury at the betrayal by the smaller mutant. "You _fuckin' stay away_ from Leo you damned traitor! I'll be dealin' with you later, you can count on it!" Raph snarled viciously as he turned his attention to Hun, not noticing or caring that Michelangelo just lay where he landed, unmoving.

Donnie frowned at the unusual behaviour but dismissed the thought as he turned his attention to backing up Raph.

"Look after Leo, I've got Hun," Raph commanded as he jabbed brutally at the Purple Dragon with a sai. He snagged Leo's captured katana between the forks and twisted the weapon violently from Hun's grasp. The human fought against the move but while he was exceedingly strong and proficient with the types of weapons common street thugs made use of, Hun's strength was not in his use of swords.

Donnie nodded and moved quickly to Leonardo, keeping an eye on the Purple Dragon leader and two turtles with his peripheral vision. He focused the bulk of his attention on his fallen brother, immensely relieved to see that Leo was still breathing. His gaze roved over him, taking in all the visible injuries and he frowned at the still seeping blood running from a long cut in Leo's right arm.

Reaching up to remove his mask to use as a temporary bandage, Donnie jerked to a halt as movement by the door caught his attention. He sharply lifted his gaze to see another eight Dragons swarming through, ready for blood.

"Where the hell have you been?" Hun demanded angrily as he continued to fight against the enraged Raphael.

Donatello noticed one pause to answer as the rest automatically split into three groups, veering straight for Donnie, Raph and the still unresponsive Michelangelo.

"Knocked out from behind and locked up in rooms. Jodds and Beef heard us and let us out. They're lookin' for everyone else."

Donnie immediately stood, anxious to protect his vulnerable brother. He spared the briefest of glances for Michelangelo, worry twisting his gut as he stepped forward, staff at the ready to defend against the four attackers fast heading his way.

Hun grunted with annoyance, "Kill the freaks but leave the one in orange alone, he belongs to me!" Hun picked up a nearby stool and viciously threw it at Raphael. Raph dodged underneath, thrusting a sai forward and aiming at Hun's nearest leg. Striking with a speed belying his size, the human grabbed the turtle's wrist before the weapon could connect. He used the momentum to bodily throw Raphael straight at the prone Leonardo.

Raph yelled and twisted desperately in mid air. He was unable to prevent colliding into Leo but he did at least manage to avoid his blade from doing more damage to his currently defenceless brother.

Hun grinned vindictively and strode directly for the exit, "Come with me, _Freak_. It's time to get you somewhere nice and safe, where we can _talk _without interruptions."

Fighting off the group of Purple Dragons, Donnie noticed with mounting horror that Michelangelo immediately jumped to his feet and ran after Hun.

\- . - . -

It didn't take Donatello and Raphael long to deal with the remaining Purple Dragons. Those that didn't run for their lives were soon littered about the lab senseless and Raph automatically ran for the door.

"Where are you going?" Donnie asked, more sharply than intended.

Raph motioned angrily at the exit, "After Hun. In case you didn't notice Don, that damned imposter betrayed us, betrayed _Leo_, an' went right along with him, merry as you please!"

"I noticed..." Donnie replied softly, fear coiling desperately within, "but they're long gone and right now, we have more important things to worry about. Our brother needs help."

Raph stopped, looking back at Leo anxiously, "He could tell Hun where we live, Don."

"I know, Raph!" Donnie snapped as he crouched back beside Leonardo. "If it comes down to it, we can always find another new home but we _cannot_ find a new brother."

Emotions swirled over Raph's features before he went and knelt beside Leo on the opposite side to Donnie. "You're right, I'm sorry. How... how bad is he?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't have much chance to check Leo over properly before more company turned up." Donnie removed his mask and bandaged the still bleeding cut on Leonardo's arm. "At a glance, Leo doesn't look too bad but I'm worried about the fact that he hasn't woken yet."

Donatello carefully moved his hands over the injured turtle, searching for any obvious broken bones or other. Finally he glanced up at Raph, "It seems safe to move him. We need to get him back to the lair where I can treat him properly." Donnie stood, eyes quickly searching the room and moved away to pick up the fallen skateboard, stashing it in the way he had seen Michelangelo do it. He also removed the broken kusarigama and dropped swords, handing the latter over to Raphael to carry. Satisfied, he hastily returned to Leo's side.

Raph nodded and together, the two brothers carefully lifted Leonardo and started the return journey to their van. As they were about to leave the building, Donnie motioned to Raph to stop and hold Leo steady while he deliberately tripped the alarm that someone in the Dragons had carefully bypassed.

"Why'd you do that?" Raph grunted curiously.

"If at least some of them get taken in by the police, it will make me feel a little better."

Soon the two had Leo safely in the van and while Donnie took care of Leo in the back, Raphael drove them home.

\- . - . -

It was several hours before Leonardo regained consciousness and in that time, Donnie had treated his wounds. Raph was sitting near, watching Leo as Donnie worked incessantly on a nearby computer.

Leo groaned as he woke, immediately trying to sit up. Raph and Donnie were at his side within moments.

"Don't try to get up, Leo," Donnie cautioned with concern as Raph held the injured turtle down.

"Wha..." Leo blinked up at his brothers with more than a small amount of confusion.

"You've been unconscious over five hours, bro." Raph stated, not moving his hand even an inch from Leo's plastron.

"You've had us quite worried, Leo," Donnie added.

Leo winced, "How bad?" he croaked.

Donnie smiled gently, "You probably feel worse than you actually are. Besides a lot of bruising, you have a sprained ankle, cuts on both arms, one which required stitches, a wrenched wrist and a concussion. Luckily you have no broken bones or internal injuries."

"That would explain why it feels like someone is playing the bongo drums in my head," Leo admitted dryly.

Raph and Donnie exchanged brief smiles as Raph finally removed his hand and stepped back.

"I need you to answer a few questions," Donnie said as he attentively watched for any adverse reactions Leo may exhibit.

Leo nodded, wincing again as he did and feeling a sickening dizzy wave wash over him. "Go ahead."

"Can you tell me your name?"

There was a brief pause, "You do realise you just called me by name a couple of minutes ago, right?"

Donatello fixed his brother with a no nonsense look that clearly stated, 'just answer the question'.

Leo sighed, "Leo."

"Your full name," Donnie insisted, not amused.

"Hamato Leonardo."

Nodding, the genius asked, "Good, now can you tell me where you are?"

"I don't even need to look around to know I'm in the lab's infirmary, Don."

There was a slight snort of amusement from Raph's direction and Donnie had to fight not to turn and glare; he was so not helping.

"All right and how many fingers am I holding up?" Donnie questioned.

Leo concentrated as he looked and with an almost laugh answered, "I would like to say six but I know that's not possible."

Donnie frowned at his hand with two fingers held up. "Suffice it to say Leo, you will not be moving from that bed until I say otherwise."

Leo went to protest but Donnie quickly interrupted, "And that definitely won't be without help or crutches. I'll call April at a more decent hour of the day to see if she can pick some up for you to use."

Donnie then leaned both hands on the bed beside Leo and with a threatening scowl added, "If I catch you even trying to train before I give you the clear Leonardo, I will allow Raphie to tie you down to the bed."

Raph couldn't help but grin broadly at the prospect, "Please just give me an excuse, Leo. You got no idea how much I'd enjoy that."

Leonardo glared, "I think not, Raphael." Leo's face then softened before a worried expression came over it. "What about Michelangelo? Is he... okay?"

Donnie felt his worry for their guest deepen.

Raph growled, all signs of good humour gone instantly with the reminder, "He won't be okay when I get my hands on his damned, traitorous shell!"

"Raph!" Leo sat up, protesting. He winced from the sudden movement.

"Fearless, he _turned_ on you! Almost fuckin' killed you after all we've done to help him, all _you've_ done!" Raph ranted furiously. "From the splintered wood of his damn skateboard and the slivers of wood Donnie had to pick outta your skull, he obviously beaned you with it!"

"_Raph_..." Leo tried to get a word in again but Raph continued, ignoring or not noticing the fact that Leo was trying to interrupt.

"When we finally got there, he was poised over you Leo, ready to slit your damned throat open with his kusarigama. How the fuck can you be so concer..."

"_Raphael!_" Leo interrupted, reaching over to grab his furious brother's arm, "Stop, _please_."

Raph stopped in surprise but the angry scowl never left his face.

"It wasn't Michelangelo's fault..." Leo turned to look at beseechingly at Donnie, "Don... didn't you explain to Raph why we were there in the first place?"

Donnie felt his face heat up in embarrassment. "Uh, actually Leo... I never had the chance." He looked away, unable to meet Leo or Raph's gazes.

"What didn't you tell me, Don?" Raph accused, still seething over the perceived betrayal and Leo's unfounded sympathy for the imposter.

Donatello sighed and looked back at Raph. "Upon doing a search for what the Dragons could possibly be after at the Petra Research Facility, I discovered an experimental chemical hidden deep in their inventory that has the ability to cause whoever comes into physical contact with it to go into a highly suggestive state."

Raph continued to stare at Donnie.

"Basically, one splash and a person can be controlled by another."

Raph stayed silent for a moment before exploding, "An' you didn't think I _needed_ to know about somethin' like that, Brainiac?"

Donnie baulked at the volatile tone, his own hackles rising, "Of course I did Raph! I was planning on telling you but if _someone_ wasn't late getting back when he said he would be ten minutes tops because he became trapped _topside_, then maybe I wouldn't have been worried and upset and I would have had time to tell you the full story on the way!"

Leonardo turned sharply towards Raph, "Topside?" He swallowed and swayed slightly with nausea and Donatello couldn't help but notice.

"Leo?" Donnie asked in alarm, "are you all right? Do you need a bucket?"

Leo waved his hand dismissively, "Thanks but I'll be fine. As long as I don't move too fast..." He leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes.

Raph stared at first one then the other brother, realisation coming over him and making him feel ill, "Are you sayin', Mi... he was dosed with that stuff?"

Leo nodded faintly, eyes still closed. "They found the chemical and used it on Michelangelo. He had no choice but to do what Hun wanted," he said tiredly. "I tried to talk him out of it but... it's not as though any of us have even shown him any reason to care enough about us to enable him to fight back..."

Raph more fell than sat down in shock, "We've... we've gotta find and help the kid, before he spills where our home is."

"You should have seen his eyes... There was nothing in them," Leo said, feeling sick and not from his concussion. "There was no life or energy in them. It was like he didn't recognise me or even care.

"They were completely blank."

Donnie was silent as his thoughts raced.

"You mean like ours seem to be with our masks on?" Raph asked.

"Yes."

"Michelangelo's mask doesn't protect his eyes the way ours do," Donnie spoke up. "He doesn't need the protection because unlike us, he has a nictitating eyelid, a protective inner eyelid. It stops things from getting inside to irritate them, much like a human's eyelashes do and serves to enhance his ability to see underwater among other things. I know when he gets completely serious, it moves into place as well."

Leo and Raph stared at Donnie in amazement, "How do you know that and why don't we have something like that?" Leo asked curiously and not a little jealously.

"I have spent some of the time over the last two weeks researching our differences in case the information ever became necessary, Leo." Donnie replied dryly. "He could be here a long time and I have to think about what could go wrong in an emergency if I don't know important differences between him and us. As for why we are so different, it would appear to be largely to do with the circumstances of our mutations and environmental factors, including the mutagen itself, I would think."

"Anyway, getting back to the chemical Hun stole. After treating Leo, I hacked back into Petra to find out more information. I simply didn't have time to research thoroughly when you first called, Leo." Donnie explained. He now had the undivided attention of both brothers. "There is good news at least. The effects of the chemical are only temporary."

Leo relaxed against his pillows in relief and even Raph looked as though a weight had been lifted.

"How long do the effects last?"

"According to the test reports I found, between eight and twelve hours, depending on the dose and the individual. Only a single drop is actually required."

"What kind of monster would deliberately create somethin' like that besides the obvious Bishop?" Raph asked belligerently.

Donnie shook his head sadly, "Actually, it was an unintentional failed batch of something that was designed to help people with behavioural problems. The scientist who created it, Doctor Schlemiel, immediately destroyed all his notes and research upon realising what it actually did. He then set about destroying all the remaining samples but he was terminated before he could complete his task."

"They killed 'im?" Raph asked, sitting up straight in horror.

"No! I mean they fired him. However he has since disappeared and there were two samples remaining. One of which disappeared a few days before the good doctor did and the other remained at Petra, which is what Hun stole."

"So this really wasn't his fault and sooner or later, he's gonna wake up to himself in Hun's clutches?" Raph ventured. "You tracked him before Don, can you track his phone again now?"

Donnie nodded, "As long as Hun didn't get rid of his T-phone, of course I can."

"It's daylight by now, isn't it?" Leonardo asked wearily.

"So what?" Raph growled, "It's too dangerous to leave him."

"If Hun was going to ask Michelangelo where we live, he would have done it by now so it is already too late. If he hasn't, he's likely to wait until after sleep and breakfast and by then, it will have worn off," Leo explained. "The two of you look exhausted and much as I hate to admit it, I am certainly in no condition to help; Michelangelo really did a number on me. If you can get a signal from Michelangelo's T-phone, call Casey and ask him to check out the location but _not_ to engage. Remind him to stay out of sight. Then tonight and under cover of darkness, we can go rescue Michelangelo if he is there."

"We?" Donatello raised his eyebrow ridges questioningly. "_You_ are going nowhere, Leonardo."

Leo grunted in annoyance, "We can argue about this later. Oh! What about the security footage at Petra?"

"I called April when we were on our way home with you and asked her to hack into Petra to destroy any footage with the four of us on it."

Leo relaxed, relieved at the news. "Good to know," he murmured. "You should trace Michelangelo and call Casey. Then make sure to get some sleep. Tonight could be another long night."

\- . - . -

to be continued

* * *

A/N: The theory behind the reason for the 2k3 turtle eyes being white when wearing masks was inspired by a story I read ages ago by Prophetella - 'Unmasked Mayhem'. I can't link to it on this site but if you search on DA, you will find it. The reason in this story impressed me so much that it became a headcanon (not to mention it was the first time I had heard of the inner eyelid and that gave me a good explanation of why the 2k12 turtle's eyes went white).


	18. Chapter 17

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'. Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

A/N: Bit shorter than normal this time, sorry about that but I have had a few too many sleep deprived nights in the last couple of weeks stifling my creativity.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch 17

Michelangelo was so tired and exhausted that all he wanted was to let his shaky legs fall out from underneath him and collapse bonelessly to the cold, dirty concrete beneath his feet. Unfortunately, though his mind had slowly started returning to him, control of his body had not. Even more frustrating and perhaps terrifying than the fact he was unable to move, that he was stuck standing stock still, was the fact that he could not utter a single word or sound.

As Mikey slowly became more aware, the events of the previous night rushed into his mind, flooding him with the terrible memories of attacking and actually trying to kill Leonardo. Mikey was horrified over what he had tried to do. He remembered vividly Leo's desperate pleas as he tried to talk Mikey down but while Mikey had been aware enough to remember what happened at the time, he'd been quite unable to care. The only thing that had mattered was doing as he was bid by that huge Purple Dragon dude, Hun.

Leo had held back, Mikey knew and understood that, but he also knew that he had ended up hurting the other turtle rather badly. He pictured Leo's crumpled, helpless form and the memory of dropping his beloved skateboard in favour of wielding his blade. Mikey squeezed his eyes closed and choked out a sob. They'd never forgive him for this! He would be by himself again in a strange world that was not his own, assuming he even managed to get away from Hun and that Raph didn't rightfully try to kill him for his traitorous actions.

His plastron ached terribly from the vicious kick that Raph had ferociously delivered and Mikey wouldn't be shocked if he had come away with cracked ribs after but that didn't exactly bother him right now. All he wanted was to know if Leo was all right.

Mikey gasped in pain as his legs suddenly gave way beneath him and he crashed down to the chilly, hard ground. He twitched and slowly drew his arms close, wrapping them around his knees and curling into a ball. He could feel everything. _Every_ hit and kick Leo had gotten in and the bruises from the fight with the Dragons before that. His throat also still ached from Hun's vicious choke hold and after...

When they had left Petra, Hun bundled Mikey into a van and drove to wherever this warehouse was; Mikey hadn't seen the route, he didn't even have enough awareness to know how long the journey took. He closed his eyes again as he distinctly recalled stripping all his gear and placing it onto a nearby table at Hun's command. To add insult to injury, an amused Hun had made Mikey chain himself by the wrists to a support pole in the middle of the main part of the warehouse and hand over the key.

Then the vile human had questioned Mikey incessantly. Mikey felt sick as he recalled the endless questions. Questions about who he was, where he came from and worse, where the other turtles called home. It had gone on for ages before Hun, finally fed up, had slammed his head backwards into the pole he was chained to. Finally Hun pulled the helpless turtle to his feet and told him not to move. Mikey was then left alone, staring blankly into the darkness and unable to do more than simply breathe.

Mikey shuddered as he remembered not caring what happened to him, just doing as he was told. Upon reflection, it was a living nightmare and he never wanted to go through anything like that again. The next time could even somehow end up worse. He _had _to find a way to escape.

"The table!" Mikey's head shot up at the memory. He knew the table where his things were wasn't far away and that there was some slack in the chains. "It's worth a try, Mikey," he told himself hoarsely; he just needed the comfort of hearing himself be able to talk.

Stiffly, Mikey clambered awkwardly to his feet, swaying unsteadily as the side effects of standing without moving for hours on end continued to hound him. He looked around the dim warehouse. The place was filthy, which was no surprise but some sunlight streamed in through a grimy skylight. From the angle, Mikey guessed it was still pretty early in the morning. He shivered, wishing the patch of sun was in his range. He shook his head suddenly, "Focus, Mikey! The table!"

Barely able to move from his aches, Mikey shuffled slowly around the pole, the chain dragging noisily on the ground as he moved until he spotted his gear mocking him from where it rested tantalisingly out of range on the table. He shifted as close as he could, stretching out and trying in vain to reach. He strained desperately, reaching out with one arm forward while the other was pulled back behind him in an effort to give himself more length but he still fell short by nearly a metre. Exhausted, Mikey eventually fell to his knees and stared up, wishing with all his heart that there was a way to get his belongings. He couldn't even use his wrappings like a lasso; he'd removed those too...

Right now, with potential freedom so close, yet so far and the knowledge that he'd hurt Leo so badly, Mikey felt more hopeless and alone than he could ever remember feeling in his life.

-:-

_I can't help but whine pathetically when my alarm goes off in the background. It totally feels like I had no sleep at all last night and I don't even remember going to bed but that alarm is as insistent as Leo when he talks about how Captain Ryan's the greatest hero ever! Blinking back sleep and smacking my mouth tiredly, I make myself to crawl out of bed, wondering why it feels so cold when it is still a couple of weeks away from Autumn. Blearily, I make my way to the screaming alarm, staring at it blankly and unable to shake the impression about how out of place it looks. _

"Mikey! Time to get up already_!" Raph pounds insistently on my door as he goes past._

_I frown in confusion, looking away from the blaring alarm to the door. Everything just feels completely surreal. The strange looking Justice Force alarm suddenly somehow screeches ever louder, tearing my attention back to it and I finally force myself to turn it off. Blinking, I suddenly stare at it harder as I wonder where it even came from. It's not _mine _and it seems like I should know it but my sleep fogged brain just can't place it. Gazing dully around, the rest of my room looks completely normal, from the big wooden ship wheel at the end of my bed to the Rad Brad cut-out near my door; it's just that one thing weirdly out of place and I really can't understand why._

"Michelangelo! Come and make breakfast already! Leo's cooking sucks!_"_

_Sighing heavily, I head to the door and open it, "I'm coming, dude!" _

_Actually stepping through the door sends a tingly feeling throughout my body and I can't help the thrill of dread rushing through my shell. Moments later, I open my eyes, blinking and staring. Everything's gone! "Bros?" My voice betrays me, giving away my sudden panic. "_Raph!_"_

_Raphael slowly steps out of the gloom, followed closely by Leo and Donnie. All three have creepy, otherworldly expressions on their faces, like something out of a horror movie. "What?"_

_I look around in total confusion at the dark, grimy, featureless and empty surroundings. "What happened to the lair, dude?"_

"_Nothing happened to the lair."_

"_Bro, _nothing's_ here!" I insist, somehow keeping in my panic as I sweep my arm around pointing at everything and nothing. That's when I glance back into my bedroom and relief surges through me when I see everything still there inside. I quickly take a step back through the door, feeling that terrible, foreboding tingle again and my vision whites out for a moment. _

_I stop dead in shock. "Wha? My room! It was _just_ here!" Terrified, I can't get back through the doorway fast enough but when I turn around to look, it's still gone and now, _so are my bros!

"Leo! Raph! Donnie! _Stop playing around!" The hysteria quickly builds to a crescendo and there's absolutely nothing I can do to calm myself down again. Raph steps out at last, more buff than I remember and the scar on his plastron is gone. Whimpering, I realise he's not my Raph but Raph had _just_ been there!_

"_We ain't the ones playin' around."_

"_R...Raph?" My voice is shaky and he just stares down at me coldly._

_The other Leo joins Raph. "I know you haven't felt welcome and we certainly have done a poor job of making you feel wanted..." Leo began with words I'm sure I have heard somewhere before._

"_But that's because we _don't_ want you." Raph snapped, voice and eyes full of hatred and I can't help but flinch back. _

_Donnie appears out of nowhere, suddenly just there, beside his other brothers. "We don't want you, we only want our brother, the _real_ Michelangelo."_

"_But... dudes, I..."_

"_Oh, just wake up already, you freak!" Raph spits acidly and all I can do is stare at him, hurt and fighting back tears. Then he continues speaking but his voice changes. It becomes harsher, more mocking and his accent is suddenly gone._

"_I said wake up already, you little freak!"_

-:-

Mikey awoke with a distressed yelp as something slammed into his plastron hard enough to make him slide a short distance along the rough ground, scraping his skin painfully. His eyes snapped open in time to see a large foot about to kick him again.

"I'm awake, dude!" Mikey cried out, his voice rasping terribly in his throat. The foot didn't slow but hit him again in the exact same spot but this time he was at least able to roll with the impact. Holding his grazed arm to his chest, he pushed himself to a sitting position and gazed up reproachfully at Hun.

The expression in the man's eyes was cruel with amusement. "You don't sound so good this afternoon, Freak,"

"Dude, you choked me last night and left me here all day without water. What do you expect?" Mikey asked petulantly, turning his head so he didn't have to look at the tall, oversized human.

Hun chuckled darkly, "Do you remember much about last night?"

'More than I wanna,' Mikey thought, refusing to answer.

Suddenly Hun reached out and grabbed Mikey by the jaw, hauling him to his feet. He pushed the turtle roughly up against the support pole he was chained to and ground his head painfully into it. "I asked you a question, you freak!"

"Stop it!" Mikey cried out, kicking out desperately and impacting his foot hard with the callous human's knee.

Hun hissed with annoyance. "You'll pay for that, Freak," he growled. He pulled Mikey away from the concrete pole before slamming the struggling turtle back into it. Then he let the young ninja fall to the ground in a heap. "Let's try again. Do you remember killing that other freak you were with? Leonardo?"

Mikey's eyes went wide with horror and he started shaking. It couldn't be! He knew he hadn't killed Leo but he almost had but did that mean that Leo died soon after? From injuries he hadn't wanted to cause?

"That's right," Hun laughed maliciously, "and it's all thanks to you."

"No..." Mikey whimpered.

"Yes," Hun insisted. "You did everything I asked of you last night and it was all thanks to this." The leader of the Purple Dragons reached into his shirt pocket and withdrew a small, coloured bottle filled with thick liquid and shook it, sloshing the contents around slowly with amusement at Mikey's fear and shock. A triumphant grin filled the heinous human's features.

Mikey stared up at the bottle in terror. He remembered the single drop hitting his skin; the burning sensation that spread like wildfire throughout his body from that spot and the near instantaneous loss of his free will.

"I couldn't have asked for a better test of a slave's willingness to please. It's too bad the effects are only temporary but each drop goes a _very_ long way," Hun mocked. He stepped away, placing the bottle down on the nearby table. He then turned back, smirking malevolently at the chained, helpless mutant and sauntered back towards him. "You already betrayed the other freaks last night, now I want to hear you betray them of your own free will."

Hun suddenly leant over, staring directly into Mikey's face and Mikey pulled back, cringing. He shook his head rapidly as if in denial.

"Tell me where the other freaks live!"

"No, I won't!" Mikey continued shaking his head, fraught with emotion.

"I want to hear you say it," Hun hissed impatiently, "without being under my control."

"_NO_!" Mikey yelled, trying desperately not to sob in front of his captor, "_You can't make me betray them any more_."

Smirking, the blond mountain replied, "Oh I know I can, Freak! You already told me last night, so it's not as if you can do more harm."

"_LIAR_!" Mikey shouted, jumping back to his feet and clenching his fists as he confronted Hun. "_I didn't tell you anything_! I _couldn't_!"

Hun stared coldly at the youngest turtle. "So, you do remember last night after all."

Mikey froze, not liking where this was going.

"You did _every_thing else I told you to do. You should have answered my questions so why didn't you?"

Mikey stayed silent, staring.

Hun thrust his arm out, grabbing Mikey painfully by the jaw once more and squeezing tightly while grinding him into the pole. "Why. Did. You. Not. Answer. My questions?"

"Because I couldn't, dude!" Mikey ground out between clenched teeth. He was barely able to prevent tears of pain from falling. Hun pulled him away from the pole before throwing him into it one handed. Mikey slid back down to the ground where he lay for a moment, before pushing himself back up to a sitting position. Tentatively, he reached his hand up to his tender jaw, rubbing gently.

"Why couldn't you answer?" The human snarled viciously.

Shaking, Mikey stood up defiantly and answered, happy to finally have something he could rub into his tormentor's face. "Because dude, the first thing you commanded me to do was to not be allowed to talk or even make a sound!" he crowed, triumphant. "So you _can't_ make me tell! I'm so glad Purple Dragons are as stupid and lame here as the ones back home!" Mikey stuck his tongue out for added effect.

Hun turned and walked back to the table, regarding it. Then he very slowly, very deliberately reached out and picked up the bottle of living hell, taking out the eyedropper before placing the bottle carefully down, tauntingly out of Mikey's reach.

"If I can't make you tell me where they are, Freak, I'll just have to make you _show me._"

Mikey stiffened where he stood, like a deer caught in headlights as a terrible chill coursed through his blood.

-:-

to be continued


	19. Chapter 18

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall story, little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'. Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

Thank you everyone who has commented, watched and faved. It always makes my day to see :-)

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch 18

Casey confirmed the presence of Purple Dragons at the location Michelangelo's T-phone signal emitted from and had snuck in for a closer look. He saw Michelangelo laying curled up and seemingly asleep on the hard, dusty ground and a chain running from each hand around a nearby support pole. Every instinct within the human warred, calling him to go get the young other-dimensional turtle out but Donatello and Raphael's words echoed in his mind, reminding him he wasn't to risk trying to rescue him without them. After just a mere few minutes, Casey decided screw that and was about to go save him when Hun entered the room, cracking his giant knuckles and smirking maliciously.

Outraged, Casey was forced to watch as Hun kicked Mikey awake and taunted the captured turtle. At this point, only the knowledge that he'd put the young ninja in further peril prevented Casey from storming in to the rescue; that and the commotion he heard from both outside and other areas of the building. Casey shrunk further back into his hiding place as he concentrated on listening, only to realise with dread that the Dragons were searching for something or someone in particular.

Casey, while certain he hadn't been seen at any time, was worried that whatever caused the brouhaha would spook the Purple Dragons or that worse, he would be found during the search. Fearing that Hun would take off and hide Mikey elsewhere, he backed off. With an apologising glance to Michelangelo who was being held by the jaw against the pillar, Casey quickly snuck back out of the warehouse and made his way to a neighbouring property where he set himself up with a good vantage point to keep watch.

If they tried to take Mikey elsewhere, Casey would be right on them.

-:-

Hours later after night fell, a nondescript van rolled almost silently, save for the faint crunch of gravel beneath tyres, into the grounds where Casey hid watching. Recognising the van as April's, Casey quickly ran over, opened the side door and slipped inside, not quite shutting it again.

In the semi dark inside, four faces turned to him anxiously and Casey blinked back in surprise at the sight of Leo in the front passenger seat. "Why's he here?"

Donatello frowned unhappily, "Leo wouldn't take no for an answer. However he is not, under any circumstances, leaving his seat, let alone this vehicle. Leo and April," Donnie continued, "are here on stand by only, in case we need a quick getaway."

Casey nodded, understanding.

"The three of you will be keeping an open communications line with us though," Leo stated firmly. "I may not be in any shape to help you inside the warehouse but I'll be here listening in and will offer what help I can, if and when you need it."

Casey surprised himself with the surge of relief he felt. Despite the fact that he often went out either alone or just with Raph to crack Dragon heads, there was just something reassuring about knowing the blue banded leader wasn't completely out of the fight.

"What's the situation in there?"

"Far as I can tell, Mikey's still in there," Casey replied with a rush. "Dragons have come and gone all afternoon and the only vehicles leavin' have left from outside. No way they could have smuggled Mikey out again that easily."

Leo looked slightly disapproving, "Unless they took a back way out or there's a sewer access somewhere on the grounds."

Casey felt his insides twist, "I didn't think of that... Would have hidden closer if I did, sorry."

Leo waved a dismissal, knowing Casey had done what he could.

"No back way out though, at least, not easily. I cased the grounds when I first got here," Casey assured his friends. "'sides, Hun left like an hour and a half ago with only two Dragons for company."

"Damn shame that," Raph growled, cracking his knuckles loudly.

"Anything else you can tell us before we go in?" Leo asked seriously.

Donnie cleared his throat warningly, an unimpressed expression filling his features.

"Before the three of you go in?" Leo amended quickly.

"Nothin' I didn't already tell you guys over the phone earlier."

"Alright, gear up then and keep those communications lines open at all times," Leo commanded as Donnie handed out headsets to everyone in the van. "April and I will be listening, though we won't transmit unless either we need to or you need help."

"Sure," Casey grunted, fitting his communicator headset in place. He glanced up to Raph with a smirk, wordlessly promising to give hell in there should they run into anyone not Mikey and was pleased to note the answering smirk promising the same.

"Be careful, guys," April called softly as they left.

"You know us, babe," Casey winked as he closed the door. "Always!"

-:-

The two ninja and vigilante crept silently through the shadows and into the warehouse, encountering only a few lax Purple Dragon guards on the way, who were very quickly dealt with. Donnie and Raph glanced at Casey expectantly and Casey pointed the way. They were led through several passageways, encountering only a further two Dragons before coming across a large metal door with a small viewing window at the end of the passage.

Donnie quickly stepped up and peered through into a huge, nearly empty space. A few support poles, a table and a number of wooden crates, many of which were half smashed, littered the area. Casey stepped in beside him and stared through.

"Yeah, this is the place."

Raph shoved his way in between the two, "So where is Mi... the _brat_?"

Donnie hid his vague amusement as he too wondered before Casey pointed out, "He was over that way when I was here earlier."

They peered cautiously into the gloom, seeing nothing and Raph went to push open the door but Donnie held him back a moment. Raph scowled, barely managing not to snap when Donnie reached into his duffel, pulling out his heat vision goggles and putting them on.

"There's only the one heat source," Donnie murmured in surprise and not a little worry a minute later. "Right where Casey said and it looks similar to Michelangelo's, certainly cooler than a human's."

"Great," Raph grunted, "then let's just get him and then get out."

"Wait!" Donnie insisted with a thoughtful frown. "Why aren't there any guards?"

"It's obviously a trap but we can't just not do anythin'. We gotta get him out."

"Yes, yes," Donnie replied, slightly impatient, "obviously but why isn't there _anyone_? They aren't just hiding, Raph. They aren't there period." He turned staring around the other directions of the building. "There only seems to be a couple more heat signatures around than the amount of Dragons we already took care of."

"Maybe the rest of them are already movin' on the lair?"

"Maybe..."

"Then shouldn't someone warn Master Splinter of that possibility?" Casey asked frowning. "Leo, did you get that?"

"_I did._" Leo's voice came quietly over the comm line. "_He already knows the chance of that is good and is prepared to bug out if need be._"

Donnie smiled grimly, "In fact, given Leo's current injuries, that possibility is the _only_ reason I conceded and allowed Leo to join us. If worst comes to worst, Leo's safer in the van with April than back home."

"Had wondered," Casey murmured, "and there I thought it was just Leo's stubborn streak showin'."

"That too," Donnie admitted, looking over at Raph. The two exchanged a quick nod and stepped forward in unison, opening the door.

"B_e careful,_" Leo reiterated over the airwaves. "_You have no idea what traps may have been left for you to trip."_

"Mother hen," Raph muttered, striding straight to where Donnie and Casey had pointed out.

The three soon rounded the pole to see Michelangelo laying there unconscious as if he'd been thrown in place and Donnie's heartbeat rose dramatically in concern. He was immediately by the younger turtle's side, checking him over for obvious injuries and trying to wake him but Michelangelo would not stir.

"What's wrong with him?" Raph demanded while he and Casey watched in all directions for any sign of movement.

Donnie pulled out a small torch, shining the beam over Michelangelo. Eventually, he pulled the unresponsive turtle to a sitting position and checked behind his head, seeing evidence of bruising and scrapes. "It's possible he may have been knocked unconscious."

"Just get him out of those chains so we can get back home already," Raph instructed anxiously.

Donnie nodded, reaching for his lock picks when Leo's voice came over their headsets again. "_I really don't like the lack of opposition you have had._"

"Neither do I," Donnie admitted uneasily.

"_Michelangelo himself may be the trap so stay alert_."

Donnie froze, contemplating the idea.

Raph snorted derisively, "If he is, he _won't_ be a problem. You're soft on him and held back. That's the only reason he got the best of you, Leo."

The line was silent a couple of seconds before Leonardo responded again, "_I admit, I did hold back a little. I didn't want to hurt him when it was obvious he wasn't in control but I don't think it would have made much difference in the end. He is far more skilled than he let's on, perhaps even than he himself realises. Do _not _underestimate him, Raph."_

"Right, Leo," Raph rolled his eyes.

Donnie looked up, "Someone get Michelangelo's belongings from the table and put them into my duffel. I'm not unchaining him until then, just in case Leo's right."

Casey quickly did as asked and Donnie started picking the locks after gently lowering Michelangelo back to the ground.

"Maybe you should keep him chained until we know for sure," Raph suggested just as Donnie popped the last lock.

Donnie waited a moment to see if the captive turtle would react before replying in a slightly condescending tone, "Don't be ridiculous, we can't do that to him."

"_Not_ that I wouldn't mind some Purple Dragon bashing but let's get outta here before anyone does turn up," Casey hurriedly suggested before Raph could argue the point.

"Agreed," Donnie replied distantly, his thoughts racing as he stood.

"He got any injuries I need to be aware of?" Raph asked, stepping in between and leaving Donnie no room, forcing him to step back.

"Raph?" Donnie questioned at the unexpected behaviour before dismissing it. "No, nothing obvious."

Raph just nodded in acknowledgement and scooped the younger turtle up before automatically heading back the way they had come. Donnie and Casey exchanged quizzical looks and followed, the former donning his heat vision goggles once more.

The trip back to April's van was as disturbingly uneventful as the journey within had been, Casey and Donnie easily taking care of the only two minor instances of trouble.

Raph gently placed the other-dimensional turtle on the floor of the van as Casey and Donnie followed him inside, closing the door behind them.

"Is he all right?" April asked anxiously from where she sat twisted around in the driver's seat.

Donnie gave a distracted nod. "Before you drive us home April, I need to check Michelangelo over to make sure there are no tracking devices planted anywhere on him."

"Okay," April replied. "Should we wait here until Don finishes checking?"

Leo shook his head slowly, "No, I'd rather not stay too close to their hideout. Just drive around at random until Don gives the all clear."

"Alright," April agreed, turning forward in her seat once more. "Casey, do you need to be dropped wherever you left your bike?"

"That'd be good, babe."

"I really wish you would not call me such derogatory names," April replied, more out of habit than anything. She reached forward, clutching the key that was sitting waiting in the ignition and turned it, bringing the engine to life as Donnie turned to his duffel bag, looking through it for the items he needed and only Leo, who was too far away in the passenger seat, noticed as Michelangelo suddenly shot to a seated position, eyes snapping open with nictitating eyelids sliding promptly into place.

Simultaneously as Leo called out a warning, both of Michelangelo's arms shot out. One snatched immediately at the closest sai on Raph's belt while the other flattened out with a knife hand strike at the same turtle's neck. He staggered him with the viciousness of the sudden attack and it was only Leo's hasty warning that gave Raph enough time to react and avoid taking the blow full force.

Eyes wide in shock, Donnie turned back. He barely avoided a face full of sai handle as Michelangelo automatically whipped the arm with the stolen weapon backwards at him.

"_Damn!_" Raph swore, "I told you we should have kept him chained!"

"Save the 'I told you so's' until later," Donnie returned. He hurriedly dodged another attack, this time from the pointed end.

"What's going on?" April flicked her eyes to the rear view mirror as Michelangelo sent Donnie slamming into the side door, causing the van to rock wildly.

"He must have been dosed again," Leo replied, sounding stressed.

"There's no damned room to move in here!" Raph snapped as he struck out with his remaining sai. He caught the stolen weapon, twisting it from Michelangelo's hold. "Remind me again why we took April's van instead of our own?"

"Stands out less," Leo supplied. "At least he has no room to make use of his agility either." He started to painfully get out of the passenger seat to go help his brothers.

Michelangelo grabbed the nearest loose object, a small car fire extinguisher. He swung it unerringly at Donnie's head but Raph and Casey stepped in, grabbing an arm each and holding the suddenly wildly struggling turtle back.

"Stay seated Leo," Donnie warned, noticing Leo's movement as he recovered his feet. "We'll handle him."

Michelangelo lifted one leg and back kicked into Casey's crotch. The force of the kick cracked his crotch guard, trapping part of the human's manhood and he went down, barely able to breath from the sudden pain. Raph barely noticed the now free elbow suddenly swing backwards and it caught him with a blow to the jaw.

"That's it!" Raph growled, working his jaw slightly as his attacker began turning towards him. "No more Mr. Nice Turtle!" Getting a better grip on Michelangelo, Raph picked up the obviously smaller turtle and slammed him face down onto the floor of April's van. Michelangelo soundlessly pressed his palms onto the surface and pushed, preparing to spring straight back to his feet. Raphael was faster. He snatched his remaining sai from its holster once more and slammed the butt of the weapon into the back of Michelangelo's head.

And Michelangelo went down without a sound.

"_Raphael!_" Donnie cried in shock.

Raph glared, "What would you have me do? He was too damned dangerous!" He turned his head to face the front of the vehicle, "April, got some rope in this thing?"

She shook her head, "No, I haven't replaced it yet from the last time. Sorry Raph."

"It's fine." Raph turned, heading straight for Donnie's duffel and pulled out the stashed remaining nunchaku. He studied it intently for a moment. "How the shell does this thing change?"

"There's a hidden depression in the end of the handle," Leo offered tiredly.

"At least wait until I check him for tracking bugs before you secure him!" Donnie protested before moving towards their downed friend. He knelt beside the moaning, curled up human. "What happened, Casey? I thought you wore protection?"

"I do..." Casey ground out through clenched teeth. "But it cracked and trapped my junk."

"_Bonehead_! I told ya to replace that thing two nights back!" Raph admonished, rolling his eyes.

Leo raised his eyebrow ridges at the implications of the comment.

"Was goin' to today but other things were more important..." Casey muttered painfully.

Donnie winced sympathetically. "Here, let me help you," he offered, reaching down.

Casey somehow managed to turn even redder and his eyes widened in horror, "No way is _anyone_ touchin' my junk!"

Donnie frowned, "You need help, Casey. If you don't want me to help you, that's fine but let someone else help you or we'll have to drop you at a hospital"

Casey hesitated before acquiescing, "Hospital then. Gotta drive around at random for a bit anyway, right?" he gasped. "Besides, Mikey needs ya more right now."

"Don't be an idiot!" April snapped from the driver's seat. "Even if we dropped you at a hospital, you would need someone to help you into the emergency room and I'm the only one here that could! Leo's in no condition to drive, Don's needed to look after Mikey and he needs Raph on standby in case Mikey wakes up and starts attacking again while he's examining him."

Casey flushed further at the scolding and muttered, "Fine..."

"Would you rather Raph or I?" Donnie asked delicately.

"You'd probably be the better choice... but the kid needs you more."

Donnie nodded and moved back to the prone Michelangelo as Raph reluctantly took his place.

"Promise me one thing, Raphie?" Casey joked through the pain. "That nothing'll change between us."

"Bonehead!" Raph retorted and Donnie smiled in amusement to himself, imagining the accompanying eye roll. Then he turned his full attention to Michelangelo.

He spent the next twenty minutes carefully examining the other turtle, looking for both injuries he may have missed in the dark earlier and any signs of hidden transmitters. While he was doing so, Raph finished with Casey and returned, standing guard over them. Donatello found himself relaxing slightly, surprised at not realising how tense he had been.

Donnie's suspicions soon proved correct as he found a hidden tracking device piercing deep into Michelangelo's skin under the edge of his plastron. A few minutes later he found another stuck to the inner edge of his shell. Finally, Donnie ran a scanner over the unconscious turtle designed to pick up on any minute signals and found nothing else. He then went through Michelangelo's belongings as Raph chained the insensate turtle in case he woke before they could get home.

Donatello wasn't thrilled about it but he realised how necessary it was and didn't argue. He did however make sure that Michelangelo was carefully wrapped in a blanket for padding first so that he wouldn't end up hurt any more than necessary. Donnie then disposed of the transmitters he found and said they could return home.

Sometime later, April pulled into the garage and Leo opened his eyes, speaking up. "Thank you both for all your help today."

"Any time, Leo," the woman said warmly.

"Raph, go check if our home has been discovered or not but be careful. Whatever the case is, you come straight back and let us know, don't try to do anything on your own."

Raph rolled his eyes again but did as he was bade, disappearing quickly from view and returning a few short minutes later to find everyone waiting anxiously for the news.

"Nothin's happened and Master Splinter's fine," he quickly reassured.

Everyone relaxed in relief.

"April, Casey, you should leave straight away, just in case. I don't want either of you here if we are attacked," Leo said firmly.

"What? We don't mind taking the chance and we want to help!" April protested.

"Besides," Casey added, "you guys are down two. You need us!"

Donnie shook his head, "No, it's better if you stay away until we know it's safe. That's assuming that Michelangelo even remembers what he has said or done while while under the influence."

Leo glanced sharply in Donnie's direction, the sudden movement making him slightly nauseous, "You didn't find out from the files if victims remember?"

"Most of the research was destroyed so there was little comprehensive knowledge to be found. There was no mention of any lasting effects or effects on people's memories."

Leo sighed, "I'm not sure if I hope he remembers or not in that case. We _need_ to know what he may have told them but the memories of what he has done will only haunt him."

Donnie nodded, "Very true." He then turned to April. "Anyway, it's probably best if you take Casey to the hospital, regardless of how he says he currently feels. There may have been lasting damage and it is best if he gets himself checked out just in case."

April nodded reluctantly, watching Raph carefully carry Michelangelo away and Donnie help Leo out of the cab, standing by ready as Leo moved on his crutches before she drove away with Casey.

-:-

It wasn't long before the four turtles and Splinter were in the infirmary and Raph and Donnie were securing Michelangelo to the bed with specially designed straps Donnie had made for unruly, stubborn brothers, or so he had told them long ago. That wasn't really why he made them of course, it was for if they were ever truly necessary but the threat often kept his patients in line.

Splinter came closer once Raph and Donnie moved away and laid a gentle paw on Michelangelo's forehead. After a while he spoke softly, "Your brother seems very lost right now."

"_He ain't our brother!_" Raph all but spat, his vehemence returning for the first time since Leo and Donnie had explained how Michelangelo wasn't at fault all those hours ago.

Splinter shook his head sadly, "Not in body or mind no, he is not. However in spirit, he very much is and he needs you right now. All of you."

"What about you, Master Splinter?" Raph asked almost accusingly. "You tell us he's our brother but you don't treat 'im like a son!"

Splinter was quiet for a moment before reluctantly replying, "You are right, I do not. However that is because Michelangelo does not wish me to."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I am not entirely certain. All I know is that while Michelangelo respects me as a sensei, he does not see me any other way. He almost seems to shy away from the idea of me as his father, other dimensional or not," Splinter explained. "However, the three of you, he desperately wishes to be recognised by you. I feel it almost every time we meditate before training."

Leonardo's eyes drew back to the turtle laying strapped to the medical bed as he scrutinised him.

"Leo and I will be here with him the entire time," Donnie reassured.

Splinter cast a knowing look in Raphael's direction, noting the hothead's gaze firmly fixed on Michelangelo.

"I don't mind helping to keep watch, Don but it hardly requires both of us the whole time," Leo stated, glancing up.

"You aren't helping, Leonardo. You are staying here as my patient," Donnie reminded the leader. "You are still suffering the effects of that concussion and you need to stay off your ankle for the next couple of days, perhaps longer. It all depends on how you treat it now as to how long that will ultimately be."

"You barely had any rest today, Don," Raph suddenly spoke up, turning from Michelangelo to face Donatello. "Leave me instructions on what you need me to do and I'll take first watch and wake you in five hours to take over." His expression showed no room for argument and Donnie was actually grateful, despite his misgivings.

"Then if all is in hand, I will take my leave," Splinter spoke up. "However, if you need me to take a watch, do not hesitate to get me. Good night, my sons."

Donnie watched Splinter soothingly touch Michelangelo's forehead once more before leaving. The genius then took Raph aside to explain what was needed. As he was finishing, Leo interrupted.

"He's awake, guys."

-:-

to be continued

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A/N: Sorry but I will be taking a brief hiatus on this story as I have 3 one shots I need to write, 2 of them are challenge fics that have a deadline and the 3rd is a prize fic for someone. I will however, return to this after that as I am rather anxious to keep on going XD


	20. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

A/N: I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter but as I said previous ch, I needed to take a short hiatus to do some other stories that had submission due dates and a prize fic I owed someone. Those are over with now and I am back to working on this story, 'The Situation' and another story (coming soon).

I will have been writing (read: posting) again for a whole year come the 16th Sept. Thank you to everyone who has been reading, following, faving and commenting on my stories. Also an extra special thank you to greys-giovana, Whitewolf22 aka Blackkatjinx and StormyNight108 (sadly, her DA account is deactivated...) for the beautiful art you have drawn for this story; all links to their pictures can be found on my profile page.  
Everyone's made me feel welcome in this fandom and happy to be writing again :-)

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch 19

"You barely had any rest today, Don," Raph suddenly spoke up, turning from the insensate Michelangelo to face Donatello. "Leave me instructions on what you need me to do. I'll take first watch and wake you in five hours to take over." His expression showed no room for argument and Donnie was actually grateful, despite his misgivings.

"Then if all is in hand, I will take my leave," Splinter spoke up. "However, if you need me to take a turn at watch, do not hesitate to come get me. Good night, my sons."

Donnie watched Splinter soothingly touch Michelangelo's forehead once more before leaving. The genius then took Raph aside to explain what was needed. As he was finishing Leo interrupted, voice full of unease.

"He's awake, guys."

Donnie and Raph turned around to see the other-dimensional turtle as silent as the grave but pulling repeatedly at the straps tying him down to the bed. His eyes remained covered by their protective inner eyelid and when Donatello called out to him, he didn't acknowledge their presence at all; just continued trying to break free.

"Michelangelo," Donnie softly tried again, "it's okay, you're safe now. You're back at the lair." There was still no response so Donnie stepped close enough to reach out and touch him.

The reaction was immediate but violent as Michelangelo stopped fighting his bindings and instead turned his attention on Donnie, trying to attack even while tied down. Donnie immediately pulled back, stepping well out of reach even as his heart dropped at the distressing sight. The younger turtle soon seemed to lose interest and went back to trying to get free.

If there had only been any expression on Michelangelo's face, in his eyes, Donnie would have had hope he was fighting the control but there wasn't and he couldn't stand seeing the other turtle this way.

"He's going to hurt himself if he keeps that up," Leo observed in quiet concern from his bed.

Donnie nodded distantly. He fully agreed with his brother but considering the fact that he didn't know the make-up of the chemical Michelangelo was under the influence of, he wasn't sure if sedating the younger turtle was wise. As he observed the increasingly violent attempts to be free, he soon realised he had no choice. Donatello whirled around, heading for his limited medicinal drug cabinet and quickly pulled out an all natural, home made sedative of his own design. It was less effective than most other sedatives he had on hand but as he rapidly loaded a small amount into a syringe, he hoped it would be less likely to react with whatever else was in Michelangelo's system.

"Hold him still, Raph," Donnie commanded, returning immediately to Michelangelo's bedside. "I don't want to risk hurting him any more than he has already been hurt."

Raph nodded, quickly doing as asked. To his surprise, he had trouble holding Michelangelo still enough and Leo soon disobeyed doctor's orders to get out of bed and come help.

Once injected with the soporific, Michelangelo began to succumb to sleep, though he continued fighting the entire time until he did.

Donnie breathed a sigh of relief, "Now since that's over, back to bed. _Now_ Leo." He disposed of the needle safely as he thanked his brothers for their help.

"You are going to have to keep a closer eye on Michelangelo now, Raph. I don't really believe there will be any complications from the sedative and the chemical he was drugged with mixing but the possibility certainly exists."

Raph nodded.

"If there is any reaction of _any_ sort, come and get me _immediately_."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it already Don," Raph interrupted with exasperation. "Get your shell to bed, you _need_ your beauty sleep."

"Thanks," Donnie chuckled wryly before regarding his other brother. "Don't you try fight sleep either Leo or I'll sedate you too."

"You wouldn't dare," Leo pointed out smugly as he crossed his arms where he lay, "not while I'm still concussed."

"You are right, I wouldn't," Donnie admitted, "but nothing will prevent me from doing it _after_, when you have recovered enough."

Leo's eyes went wide at the threat and he wisely decided not to push the issue.

-:-

Leo was long asleep, having yielded to his exhaustion not too long after Donatello left and Michelangelo was still sedated as Raph stared at his tied down, prone form. Raphael's thoughts were awhirl with confusion. He definitely didn't want the annoying, other-dimensional Michelangelo around, yet his blood boiled at the mere thought of the time the younger turtle had suffered in Hun's clutches.

Casey had been forced to retreat or risk himself being exposed but he'd seen enough to have told Raph, Leo and Donnie over the phone of the gang leader's mistreatment of his captive and even if he hadn't, the bruising, the scrapes and the dried blood, though Raph was certain the majority of that was actually Leo's, would have told the tale. He found himself almost wishing Hun had still been around when they rescued the younger ninja; Hun was due for some serious payback, not just for this, the latest of his crimes but for all the incidents in the past also.

After Donnie had finally gone to bed, Raph kept his word and cleaned up the dried blood over Michelangelo; anything to give his brother a chance at some much needed rest, he convinced himself. He had however waited until Leo finally fell asleep before doing anything.

Unbidden, Raph's thoughts drifted to memories of the last two insufferable weeks of Michelangelo's stay. He could tell all along that the younger turtle was rather subdued and truth be told, even though Raph knew that much of Michelangelo's behaviour was thanks to his treatment of him, that also annoyed him and for a fleeting moment he felt bad. He really didn't want to make Michelangelo more unhappy than he already had to be, being away from his family and friends the way he was but Michelangelo's presence only served to remind him and his brothers of their own pain and that wasn't right either. Raph was amazed to realise that even though Michelangelo clearly had to be unhappy, he managed to cover it up extremely well. Just as well, if not better, than their own lost brother would have.

Or maybe it was just that Raph didn't know this Michelangelo the way he'd known Mikey? Maybe it was just that he couldn't read between the lines, couldn't see the signs...

He frowned lightly while watching Michelangelo sleep. Though there was no movement beyond simply breathing in and out, Raph felt as if the induced slumber was anything but peaceful. If asked though, Raphael would not have been able to say what it was that gave him that impression.

The kid had heart, he had to give him that much. The way he welcomed, invited even, Raph's ire onto himself rather than letting it continue being directed at Raph's living brothers was proof of that.

And how Raph had delivered on that invitation over the last two weeks... yet despite all that, Michelangelo still kept reaching out to him, to all of them.

He moved closer, reaching for Michelangelo's upper plastron where even through the natural armour, he could see telltale signs of deep bruising in the exact spot he'd kicked him in just over a day prior. Raph felt a brief flash of guilt... he hadn't needed to kick him quite so hard, even before hearing the truth he'd known that...

Suddenly Raph became aware of a presence behind him and he whirled about, eyes wide and ready, wanting_,_ to deny being caught so close to the sedated turtle, especially when he had no reason to be.

"Don?"

Donatello smiled tiredly and Raph flicked his eyes over to the clock on the wall, scowling. "It hasn't even been four hours since you went to bed, bro. What are ya doin' here?"

Donnie shook his head, "I couldn't sleep so I figured I may as well come relieve you," he admitted in a low tone. "No need for both of us to suffer without sleep tonight."

"Maybe you should give yourself some of your own sedative," Raph suggested darkly.

Donnie chuckled quietly, "Maybe... but until we know what Hun knows, that probably wouldn't be a wise decision." The genius turtle moved closer, dragging a chair behind him and flopping tiredly into it. "How are they?"

"They're fine. He hasn't moved at all." Raph thumbed towards Michelangelo and at the sudden look of alarm crossing his brother's features, he added quickly, "Other than breathin', that is!"

Donnie calmed slightly, his fears settling.

"An' Leo's been just fine when I've checked on him."

Donatello relaxed at the news, slumping back into his tattered but comfortable office chair. "That's good to know."

"Go back to bed, Donnie-boy. I'm fine but if I get tired I'll just get Master Splinter to take over instead."

Raphael turned back to Michelangelo and sighed, unconsciously lowering his defences for a moment, "How's it even possible for the kid to be even more annoyin' when he's silent?"

Donnie shook his head wordlessly, knowing his brother didn't expect or want an answer. "Raphie..." he eventually ventured softly, "can I ask you a question?"

Raph started, realising that Donnie had heard his comment even though he hadn't said anything about it. As a result, he just knew he wasn't going to like whatever his brother wanted to ask. He turned and stared, almost daring Donnie.

"Why can't you just admit you are worried about him?"

Raph groaned inwardly, it was worse than he thought. He had no intention of answering such a personal question but having been confronted with it, he couldn't help but think it over. Without realising, he spoke up. "I've been so angry over the unfairness of it all, the way we lost Mikey despite everythin' we've done for this world and then _he_ turns up, rubbin' our faces in it, whether he means to or not. How else am I supposed to react?" Raph eventually replied. "It's not exactly easy just lettin' go of how I feel, no matter what anyone else seems to think."

Donnie just watched Raph silently, letting him reply in his own time. Speaking about his emotions had never been Raph's forte, it wasn't any of theirs really but Raph always had the hardest time verbalising such things and to interrupt him now would be a sure fire way to make him stop talking and more than likely stalk away embarrassed.

"Ya know... I coulda killed him yesterday, when he had that blade to Leo... I probably woulda if Hun wasn't the bigger threat at the time... and now that I know what really happened, all I can think of is, what if I had? How could I have lived with myself after?"

"I'm truly sorry, Raph. I honestly meant to tell you," Donnie whispered guiltily.

"I know and it's fine, it's done now," Raph confessed. He really didn't blame Donnie; he'd been making things harder on his family for a long time now, especially since... Raph shook his head, forcing the thoughts out of his head.

"What about you?" Raph countered suddenly, making Donnie realise the discussion was now over and he'd get no more out of his recalcitrant brother. "You ain't been dealin' with _him_ bein' here so well either. One minute you're fine and doin' whatever you can to be friendly or to help, the next, you're pushin' everyone away all over again."

Donnie realised there was no getting around it this time. He was tired and didn't have the energy to deter or rebound the observation and to his shock, he realised Raph actually wasn't being a jerk about it like last time, he was genuinely concerned. In any event, he'd needed to talk about things for a long time but had no one to confide in. Everyone he was close to were also dealing their own pain and he'd never felt comfortable reminding them or adding to it... but here was one of his brothers, actually concerned enough to _ask_.

"The problem is I truly want to help Michelangelo and be there for him... but every so often, something he does or the way he moves... he reminds me so much of Mikey that for a moment, I can _see_ him," Donnie admitted quietly. "For a moment, I could swear he's still alive and _right_ _there _but then reality comes crashing down on me; it's almost as if it just happened, the pain is fresh and I'm drowning in it all over again. Like the rest of us, there is no one I can go talk to that I won't hurt by confiding in them."

Donnie sighed and slumped back into the chair, feeling the loss of his best friend all the more. "I used to talk to Mikey when things got me too down," he confessed, his voice rough as he tried to conceal the damning emotions. "It was never that I went to him though, but rather, he sought _me_ out. He always somehow just _knew_ whenever I needed to talk, no matter how deeply I buried things, intentional or not."

Raphael nodded. Mikey had often done the same for him. Though usually it was by creating an outlet for his aggression and mood swings by being so damned annoying that Raph couldn't help but explode and let all his tension out. That being said, there were plenty of times Mikey had done that just for his personal amusement too.

Donnie breathed deeply and continued. "There are some nights Raph, when I dream he's out there, desperately calling, waiting on us to come help him..." he shuddered at the memory of those horribly realistic dreams; the tangible loneliness, the fear and pain, the sheer desperation of his brother's voice and in those dreams, because he was somehow aware he was dreaming, Donnie always refused to turn and look. He just couldn't...

"I never knew..."

"I know, Raph. I could never bring myself to tell anybody about them. I... those dreams were at their worst about three months ago for several weeks but they have been far less frequent of late. Though occasionally I still..." Donnie stopped talking and stared ahead, not looking at Raph but rather at a spot on the wall beyond him.

Raph stood before walking over to the nearby tap and filling a cup with water, which he then handed to his brother. Donnie smiled gratefully and took a sip before speaking again, his expression falling into misery once more.

"You know Raph, we always accused Mikey of not focussing, not paying attention but that night, it was me..." Donnie began to tremble lightly, a physical admission to feelings he couldn't hide any longer. "I was focussing so hard on what I was doing that I wasn't paying attention to what was actually happening around me and it was Mikey who paid the price."

Raph stiffened, cold. He recognised the burning guilt that Donatello had been suffering with for the last nearly seven months. He had so many questions about that night, they all did really; Donatello had only told them the bare minimum of what happened so long ago, in part due to his shock at the time, but this was the first time Donnie had really opened up to anyone about what happened as far as he was aware and he knew that if he pushed, Donnie was likely to clam up again.

"One minute, he's laughing, keeping score, even in that situation and the next, he's screaming in such pain as I've never heard before... His screaming haunts me, Raph..." he admitted almost choking on his words. "Unless I work myself to exhaustion each night, I still hear him whenever I close my eyes."

"You had a job to do, Don. You trusted him to have your shell while you did it."

"Yes, I did... but I never wanted him to die to save me..."

-:-

to be continued


	21. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

Thank you to everyone who has commented, faved or followed. Seeing those messages come through really makes my day :-)

*winks* Finally reached one of the things several people have asked for.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch 20

A soft chime sounded, startling Donnie from his reverie and Raph glanced over to it in slight irritation before moving to shut it off.

"You set an alarm to remind you about Leo?" Donnie questioned quietly.

Raphael nodded, "Yeah. Told you I'd do what you needed done so I set it so I wouldn't lose track of time."

Donnie smiled in relief. In truth he'd been a little worried. He'd never doubted Raph's intention, just that he wouldn't notice the time. Especially if he ended up caught up by his anger over everything that happened. Donnie stood and trudged tiredly towards Leo, only to be immediately intercepted by Raph.

"What do you think you're doin'? I told you I'd take care of it!" Raph reminded Donnie with an annoyed scowl.

"It's not as if I'm going to sleep anyway," Donnie protested weakly even as Raph began pushing him towards the door.

"Then take just enough sedative to knock you out but not to keep you asleep," Raphael suggested. "You got somethin' like that?"

"Yes," Donnie reluctantly confirmed. "But I can't risk growing dependant."

"Just sayin' for tonight," Raph insisted. "You can't keep doin' this to yourself and who knows, a good night's sleep might help in other ways too."

Donnie nodded sluggishly, knowing that Raph was right. "Just for tonight then," he agreed.

-:-

An hour after Donatello went back to bed, Raph traded watch with Splinter for a few hours and then swapped back again while the other three turtles still slept. A couple of hours after, Leonardo woke, feeling much better than he had the previous night. His balance was mostly restored and his headache significantly lessened, so when he had insisted that he could make his own way to the bathroom and back without help, Raph had let him. Now just over ten minutes had passed since the leader left and Raphael was beginning to worry, thinking about how he would get it from a snippy Donatello if Leo didn't return safely before Donnie woke up.

Raph stared anxiously towards the infirmary door, willing his brother to hurry the shell back and on the cusp of deciding to go look for him, a sniffle and shuffling sound caught his attention from behind. Turning, Raph saw a now awake Michelangelo doing his best to curl in on himself despite the straps holding him down. His eyelids were scrunched tightly closed and a couple of tears glistened at the corner of his eyes. It was apparent even to Raphael that Michelangelo was trying to avoid drawing attention to himself, not wanting anyone seeing him crying.

Stepping silently towards the other-dimensional turtle, Raph was unsure what to do or say until he remembered Donnie's words from the previous night. "Hey kid, it's okay" he paraphrased, trying his best to sound reassuring despite his gruff tone, "you're safe now."

Mikey's only response was to clench his eyes tighter and still his breathing in an obvious effort not to appear weak in front of Raph. Realising this, Raph felt bad all over again, understanding he was the one who'd driven Mikey to this point.

He tentatively reached out a hand to touch Michelangelo's arm, only to cringe when the younger turtle recoiled from his touch. Raph felt overwhelmed with frustration, once again unsure what to do. Suddenly he noticed the straps still firmly holding Michelangelo down and made his decision. "Hey kid," he repeated roughly, "I need you to open your eyes and look at me. Just for a moment, okay?"

Michelangelo nodded. Swallowing painfully in order to keep quiet, he managed to open his eyes, looking up at the red banded turtle looming over him. He whimpered a moment before hurriedly closing his eyes again and turning his head away. It was enough though. Raph relaxed at the sight of the bright blue irises peeking fearfully out from light green eyelids.

"Now I know you're really you again, I'm gonna untie you, okay?"

Mikey nodded once in acknowledgement and Raph quickly released the bonds, watching in astonishment as Mikey suddenly withdrew all limbs completely into his shell.

"What the fu..."

"Is he awake now?" Leo unintentionally interrupted as he hobbled painfully back through the infirmary door.

"Uh, yeah..." Raph replied, turning to face his brother with wide, shocked eyes, "but he's refusin' to talk. Then again, I was the only one here so maybe he will now that you're back... but..."

"But what?" Leo asked, resting painfully against the door frame.

"You gotta see this, Leo!" Raph practically exploded as he gestured wildly towards Michelangelo. Withdrawing into their shells was something that he and his brothers had tried to do instinctively so many times when they were younger and even on rare occasions now they were older. However, thanks to their mutation it was physically impossible for them and occasionally, it had frustrated them all. To see Michelangelo able to do so without any effort whatsoever, actually made a tiny part of Raph jealous.

Leo curiously limped over with the aid of his borrowed crutches, slowing to a halt in bewilderment as he took in the sight of a fifteen year old mutant turtle hidden completely inside his shell. "How...?"

"Don't ask me!" Raph shrugged, still in shock over what he was seeing. "You're gonna have to ask the boy genius when he gets up."

Leo stared resolutely down at the withdrawn turtle on the medical bed. While it was obvious Michelangelo was traumatised, it was vital they had answers. With difficulty he moved closer but Raph put out an arm, stopping him.

"Don't care if you don't go back to bed but at least sit down and put that damn leg up," Raph insisted firmly. "I ain't getting' reamed by Don just cause _you_ are bein' stupid again!"

Leo tossed Raph an amused look before moving to the nearby chair and trying to pull it closer to Michelangelo's bed. Raph rolled his eyes at the awkward struggle and impatiently took the chair away from Leo, plonking it down roughly beside where Mikey's head should have been.

Sitting down heavily, Leo found he was actually grateful to be off his feet. He reached out a hand to lightly push at Michelangelo's shell and a small, muffled whimper came from inside, indicating that Leo at least partially gained the younger turtle's attention.

Raph scowled at the distressed sound.

"Michelangelo, I know you've been through a bad experience this last day and you probably don't want to think about what happened but we need to ask you some questions." Leo spoke firmly in his leader voice to make sure he kept the younger turtle's attention.

Raph stepped closer, warning in his voice, "Leo..."

Leo shook his head, interrupting his hot headed brother. "We _need_ to know," he reminded quietly.

"I know that Fearless but you gotta..."

"But nothing, Raphael," Leo stated firmly before returning his attention to Michelangelo. "Michelangelo, do you remember anything from while you were captured by Hun?"

Mikey's head peeked from his shell enough to stare fearfully at Leo, "He said... he said you were dead, Leo... That it was because of me..." His voice was rough and shaky as he spoke.

Leo closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the hopes of finding the answers he sought fade with that statement. "As you can see, I'm fine," Leo assured him. "A little banged up but definitely alive."

Michelangelo withdrew completely again, making Leo's frustration well and he fought desperately to prevent the other turtle from noticing. "Michelangelo, come back out of your shell so we can talk."

Mikey's shell rocked slightly from side to side, as if the young turtle was shaking his head. "I tried to _kill_ you!" his muffled wail came from inside. "I thought you died because of injuries _I_ gave you!"

Raph and Leo exchanged a quick glance.

"I promise I'm really fine, Michelangelo; the worst that happened to me was the concussion," Leo insisted, trying to convince their other-dimensional brother that everything was alright. "Please come out of your shell and look at me properly, _talk_ to me! We _need_ to know if you remember what happened, what you told Hun."

"...Every...thing..." Mikey began coughing harshly from the small amount of talking with his sore, dry throat. He came back out, curling in on himself as he tried desperately to ease the coughing fit.

Leo clambered out of his chair as both he and Raph hurried to Michelangelo's sides and coaxed him up to a sitting position. Eventually the coughing fit subsided and Mikey's eyes grew wide. He stared in terror at Raph as he caught sight of the acerbic ninja, before recoiling from both when he remembered the way Raph had warned him off back in the research facility.

Donatello chose that moment to walk into the infirmary, looking better rested than he had in a very long time and his quick mind took immediate stock of the situation. "Leonardo! What are you doing out of bed? I haven't cleared you yet!"

"I was just..."

Glaring, Donnie pointed to Leo's cot, "Back to bed, now!" Then he faced Raph, "And you head to bed too! You've been up _all_ night!"

"I'm fine, I got three hours sleep when Master Splinter took over for a while earlier," Raph corrected in annoyance.

Donnie just pointed to the door, ignoring his brother's protests. Any place else, Donatello may have been mild and calm but this was _his_ domain and here, Donnie was not to be argued with; a fact bother brothers knew intimately.

Both Leo and Raph quickly acquiesced, the latter stomping out the room like a petulant child and Donnie immediately turned to Michelangelo, taking in the younger turtle's clearly upset disposition. He strode forward with a few quick steps, dismayed as the fearful stare turned on him instead.

"I haven't found out what Hun knows yet," Leo explained, catching Donnie's attention as he started to climb back out of the bed.

Donnie fixed him with a glare, "I swear Leo, if you don't stay put, I _will_ strap you down!"

Leo settled back down immediately and Donnie's expression relaxed.

"How long has he been awake?"

Leo glanced up at the clock on the wall, "Maybe twenty minutes or so, I'm not really sure. He woke up while I was in the bathroom."

Donnie nodded distantly before turning back to check Michelangelo over, smiling reassuringly all the while.

"Don, if you won't let me question Michelangelo, then you need you to do it."

"Later, Leo."

"You know how important this is!"

"Yes, I do," Donnie responded as placidly as he could, wanting to calm his patient, "and I said later. We survived the night, a little longer won't hurt."

After he finished his quick examination of Michelangelo, Donnie turned away, coming back moments later with a cup of water and a straw. Handing it to the slowly calming Michelangelo, he warned him to sip slowly through the straw, not wanting him to be sick.

Michelangelo finished his drink as fast as Donnie would allow, grateful to finally quench some of his thirst. His eyes flashed over to glance at Leo before returning to Donnie and handing the cup back. "Can... I have some more please?"

"Of course," Donnie said soothingly. He refilled the cup and came back, though he didn't hand it over immediately. "How are you feeling, Michelangelo? Are there any aches or pains beyond the bruising I should know about?"

Michelangelo stared in something between disbelief and shock at Donnie before blurting raspily, "Why are you acting so worried about me? I tried to _kill_ Leo and tried to _hurt_ the rest of you in the van!"

Donnie handed the water over and sat in the chair Leo had previously vacated, looking thoughtfully at Michelangelo. "What you did or tried to do was not your fault, Michelangelo. We know you had no control over your actions and no one here blames you in the slightest."

Mikey slumped miserably against the wall at the head of the bed. "Raph does..."

"Did he say something to you this morning about that?" Donnie canted his head curiously, knowing full well that Raph hadn't blamed Michelangelo since Leo explained what had happened after he originally woke.

Mikey shook his head warily, keeping his eyes fixed on Donnie's.

"Then why do you believe such a thing?"

Mikey opened his mouth to answer before hesitating and casting another scared look in Leo's direction.

"Michelangelo?"

"Because I remember from when I almost killed Leo... Hun only made me stop because he wanted to finish Leo himself and I stopped... I couldn't move... didn't even want to move... and then you and Raph arrived." Mikey touched his plastron where Raph had so viciously kicked him the other night. "He... told me to keep away from Leo and that he'd... deal with me later..."

Mikey glanced Leo's way again before dropping his gaze to his lap. "If he didn't already hate me before, he definitely does now..."

Donnie coughed slightly and with an apologetic expression explained, "Due to a um... miscommunication... Raph was unaware of the existence of the chemical that had been used on you. As a result, it didn't even occur to him that you were being controlled and that was unfortunately my fault."

"Oh..."

"Once he found out," Donnie continued, "Raph was probably the most vocal about saving you."

Michelangelo's eyes raised as they searched Donnie's face for any sign of a lie.

Donnie's expression suddenly went thoughtful again as he contemplated what Michelangelo had told him so far. "If you remember that much about what happened at the research facility and in April's van, then I assume you remember other things that happened while you were dosed?"

Leonardo suddenly sat up, his attention focused on the two turtles only a few short metres away.

"I remember everything D," Mikey admitted with a shudder. "It was horrible and worse, I... didn't even _try_ to fight it!" His eyes filled with fear once more at his admission.

"I'm very sorry to have to ask this, Michelangelo but it is very important." The younger turtle's attention was riveted on Donnie so the genius gently continued speaking. "Did Hun ask you where our home is?"

Michelangelo nodded miserably.

Leo sighed despondently, "I guess that's it then. We need to leave asap!"

"But I didn't tell him!" Mikey blurted hurriedly.

Donnie's and Leo's gazes immediately swung back to the younger turtle.

"Really?"

"He didn't ask while you were under his control?"

"He did!" A faint flicker of a smile crossed Mikey's face as he gave a half chuckle. "But Hun's an idiot!"

Leo and Donnie exchanged quick looks before Leo asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"The very first thing Hun ordered me to do, even before he made me... attack Leo... was to not be allowed to talk or make any kind of sound so when he asked," Mikey laughed again, though it wasn't his usual, joyful laugh, "I wasn't _able_ to tell him."

The relief in the room was palpable.

Michelangelo's face darkened again as he shuddered, "Though before he put me back under his control, he said he'd just make me show him instead..."

"That certainly explains why it was so easy to retrieve you then," Donnie mused quietly. "A couple of those tracking bugs were ridiculously easy to find, though others were not."

"Trackers?" Michelangelo asked, looking to Donnie in confusion. "I don't remember anything about those but maybe it was after he made me sleep..."

"Then how did Hun intend for you to show him where we live?"

Taking a deep breath, Mikey looked down at his lap once more. "Hun knew Casey was around... He told me that he'd use that to lure the rest of you there. He made me sleep until I heard the sound of engine starting and that's when I was supposed to attack you guys again... He didn't want me to kill you though, just... hurt you enough that he could move in afterwards and... and if you dudes got me back here, then I was supposed to phone him and leave the line open..."

Donnie's jaw dropped in horror, "So he could just trace the phone signal!"

Michelangelo nodded miserably again. "But you guys had me tied up so I couldn't."

"Luckily for all of us," Leo commented dryly.

Donatello suddenly froze as a thought occurred to him. "Now I think about it, from what what you just told us, I believe that Hun could have easily countermanded his order for you not to be able to talk."

"What... do you mean?" Michelangelo asked apprehensively.

"You said yourself that you were originally ordered to kill Leo but then he told you to stop so he could instead do it himself," Donnie reminded him. "All he needed to do was to tell you that you were to speak again to answer any questions and you wouldn't have had any choice but to do so. It would have been all in the wording."

"Oh..." Mikey muttered, feeling stupid for not realising what Hun could have so easily done. He'd even mocked the giant, blond himbo for it...

"Good thing he either didn't think of it or decided it would be more entertaining for us to bring you home instead," Leo mused thoughtfully.

Suddenly Mikey looked up again, the fear back on his face, "I... did I hurt anyone too badly?"

"Everyone is fine, Michelangelo," Donatello assured him. "Even Casey."

Michelangelo relaxed a little and closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall in relief. "Good. I'm still really, really sorry though. I never wanted to do any of this..."

"It's okay, Michelangelo," Leo said comfortingly.

"No, it's not! I promised you that you could count on me and that I would focus in there but they got me anyway and I caused you guys so much trouble!"

Leo sighed, "And maybe if I hadn't made you hang back, none of this would have happened."

"... but I still screwed up again like I always do anyway..." With that, Michelangelo rolled onto his side, facing away from the other two and stared morosely at a mark on the nearby wall.

Leo and Donnie exchanged helpless looks, unsure what to do or say to a turtle who in many ways was so similar to their brother and yet in other ways, nothing alike. Little things like that just proved that while the younger Michelangelo acted it, he wasn't actually anywhere near as confident as he usually appeared. It made Leonardo remember back two nights previously on the rooftops when Michelangelo had muttered something about no one wanting him one time and Leo began to wonder just how his brothers treated him that made him have so little confidence. 'Not that we've been a lot better...' he thought guiltily, thinking back over the last couple of weeks.

Just then, a loud grumbling emanated from Michelangelo's direction, startling the two brothers and making Michelangelo stiffen.

"Was that your stomach?"

"No?" Michelangelo's voice rang out, half adamant, half questioning.

"I'm sorry," Donnie began, "I should have thought. Were you given _anything_ to eat or drink while you were gone?" he asked apologetically.

"Not hungry anyway..." Mikey grumbled more to himself than anyone else. He was sure he would just end up throwing up whatever he tried to eat. Then he spoke up, "Actually he gave me a small cup of water after putting me back under his control but nothing before that. Said something about not wanting me to collapse before I could do the mission he told me to do..."

"Figures," Donnie murmured. "I'll go get both you and Leo some breakfast. I won't be long."

Donnie stood and walked out the infirmary, noticing the door was slightly ajar as he approached. He made sure to close it properly behind him before looking up to see Raphael to the side. Donnie wasn't surprised by the sight, in fact, the only thing that had surprised him was Raph only putting up a minimal fight earlier and actually leaving. He still fixed Raph with a stern look though. "I thought you were going to bed?"

Raph snorted derisively, "As if! I needed to know what he had to say too, Don."

Donnie allowed his expression to soften, knowing his brother was right. "Thank you for at least leaving when I asked," he said gratefully. "You being there once Michelangelo woke wasn't really helping much."

Raph's face darkened, "Neither was Leo," he pointed out harshly.

"Yes, I had that impression when I walked in." Donnie sighed, wishing that things could somehow just be normal again. "Come help me with breakfast?" he asked softly.

"Sure," Raph shrugged.

A few minutes later, the two returned to the infirmary, bowls of cereal for everyone in hand.

"Thanks but I already told you I'm not hungry D," Michelangelo muttered stubbornly, refusing to sit up and take the food from Donnie.

Donatello twitched slightly and made a mental note to speak to Michelangelo about that awful nickname at a later time, preferably after the younger mutant began to bounce back. "Your stomach has been loudly insisting otherwise, Michelangelo," he pointed out. "Just eat a little, you'll feel better after."

As Michelangelo eyed the bowl uncertainly from where he lay, Splinter entered the room, greeting everyone as he joined them.

"I am pleased to see everyone awake and in one piece," he said. Splinter then turned a questioning look towards Leonardo, silently asking if he was alright and Leo replied with a firm nod. Splinter smiled in relief before continuing towards Michelangelo's bedside. "How are you feeling this morning, Michelangelo?"

Michelangelo immediately turned before sitting up to attention. "I'm okay Sensei." He tried to smile but it was one of the most obviously fake expressions they'd ever seen on the smaller turtle.

"Michelangelo was just about to eat breakfast," Donnie explained patiently before looking directly at the other-dimensional turtle. "Weren't you, Michelangelo?"

Realisation that he'd just been ambushed flashed through Michelangelo's eyes and he reached out reluctantly, taking the proffered bowl. He stared in dread, swallowing at the sight of cereal on the spoon as he slowly lifted it towards his mouth. After a few spoonfuls however, Mikey was all but shovelling the rest down and slurping noisily at the leftover milk.

Splinter smiled warmly towards Michelangelo, noting that while the younger visitor was still down, he was at least brighter than when he'd walked in.

"Donnie?" Mikey ventured hesitantly after a short while. "Do I have to stay in here?"

Donnie shook his head, "I see no reason for you to need to remain here. However, I don't want you leaving the lair, alright?"

Mikey nodded with a small but grateful smile, "I just want to go watch T.V. or something."

"That sounds good. Just remember Michelangelo, we're in here if you need us or want to talk. After all, Leonardo on the other hand is _not_ to leave my sight."

"What? Can't I at least move to my own room?" Leo protested indignantly.

"Not a chance. I'd like to give you a once over first and even after that, you will be staying right where I can keep an eye on you," Donnie said firmly as Michelangelo climbed off his bed, picked up his nearby gear and walked out the room. Donnie noticed he was trying to walk with a bounce in his step but it failed badly, making him realise just how much Michelangelo was trying to hide how he felt. "I still remember how you kept trying to train whenever we weren't looking the _last_ time you were injured enough to require bed rest."

"It's nice to see how much I'm trusted around here," Leo grumbled wryly. "Well, I didn't want to leave just yet anyway. We need to talk about what we are going to do."

Raph sat up straighter, his expectant gaze leaving the now closed door and settling on Leo. Cracking his knuckles, he grinned nastily. "Good! Because Hun's got some serious payback comin' his way!"

Leonardo nodded in full agreement. "First of all, we need to recover that chemical," he said. "We'll return to the warehouse tonight. While it's unlikely that Hun or the Dragons will still be there, we cannot take the chance of overlooking any possibility. Besides, there may be some kind of clue as to where they have gone or what they plan to do.

"In the meantime Don, if you could hack into the city's CCTV, see what you can find," Leo continued. "See if you can find any other areas with Purple Dragon activity, obvious or otherwise."

"Of course, Leo," Donnie replied. "However..."

Leo held up his hand, silencing Donatello. "I know what you are about to say Don but I _will_ be coming. Like last night, I'll stay in the van on standby but I _will_ be there regardless."

Realising there was no point in arguing with Leo when he was like this, Donnie reluctantly agreed. "Alright, as long as you promise to stay put but I don't believe it's a good idea for Michelangelo to join us; he's been through an extremely traumatic experience this last day and a half. However that being said, I don't think he would take being left behind very well either."

"I will make sure to keep him company," Splinter offered compassionately.

"Thank you, Sensei," Donnie half smiled in relief.

"Actually, that's the other thing I wanted to talk about," Leo began hesitantly. "There was something about Michelangelo's story that doesn't feel quite right."

Donnie nodded in agreement and Raph canted his head slightly at Leo. He'd heard through the slightly open door earlier but he hadn't picked up on whatever it was bothering his brothers. "What do you mean, Fearless?"

"I have yet to hear what Michelangelo had to say," Splinter reminded them, the concern plain on his furry face.

Donnie repeated Michelangelo's story, bringing Splinter up to speed and to say their father wasn't very happy about what he heard was an understatement.

"Hun had to have known that once Michelangelo attacked us, we would secure him. So why would he have told Michelangelo to phone from the lair?" Leo asked thoughtfully. "I guess the phoning was for in case Don found all the trackers but it still doesn't make sense to me," he mused, running his tactically sharp mind over Michelangelo's words once more.

"It would make far more sense if Michelangelo had been told to remain docile until after we brought him home," Donnie pointed out.

"But then we may have thought something was wrong and been far more suspicious."

"Is there any chance that Michelangelo may still follow through on orders less contrary to his nature once that drug had worn off?" Splinter asked cautiously, looking to Donatello for answers.

Raph sat up a little straighter once more, glancing anxiously towards the closed door at the dreadful idea. He had to fight to stop from just running out to watch Michelangelo.

"Maybe but _only_ if there had been enough repeated exposure to the chemical," Donnie dismissively reassured his family. "However there hasn't been enough time for that. Michelangelo was in Hun's care for less than a day and only under his control twice. That's definitely not enough time. Regardless, even if he did have the time, it's doubtful Hun has enough of the substance to risk testing something like that anyway. Beyond that, there simply isn't enough data, nor is there any way to humanely test such a thing, so I couldn't say for sure whether it was even a remote possibility."

Leo, Raph and Splinter all relaxed upon hearing Donnie's reasoning.

Donnie pulled his laptop closer to himself and opened Skype, typing a message to April to let her know their home was safe and to enquire after Casey.

"So tonight. How are we goin' to handle this?"

-:-

Sometime later once the planning session was complete, Splinter was the first to leave, promising to check on Michelangelo quickly before going to meditate. Not long after, Raph decided he'd had enough of being in the infirmary, not to mention that the lack of sufficient sleep was beginning to wear him down, so he left Leo under Donnie's watchful care while the genius trawled through the city's CCTV footage.

Once he reached the stairs leading to their bedrooms, Raph finally noticed the drone of a television; its channel on some boring as dirt documentary. He frowned, remembering Michelangelo saying he'd just go watch TV when he left. Since Raph couldn't imagine Mikey, let along Michelangelo, watching something like that, he silently crept into the entertainment room to check on their young guest.

What he saw disturbed him. Michelangelo was there, laying curled up in the corner of the couch and staring listlessly at the single switched on television where some old geezer was droning on about rocks.

Raph quickly realised that Donnie was the last one to use that particular television and Michelangelo had simply turned it on without changing the station to something far more interesting; like watching grass grow. Whether it was on just for the noise or appearance, Raph really couldn't tell but what he did see was an obviously hurting, lonely turtle who was deeply affected by what he'd unwillingly been forced to do.

And Raphael couldn't stand the sight.

-:-

To be continued.


	22. Chapter 21

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. Nor do I own anything relating to Nintendo, unless you count the games and consoles I paid for.

Warnings: Overall story, little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

A/N: Sorry for the delay. After pushing out 'Snatched' so fast I was a little burnt out. By the time I felt ready for writing, rather than just planning, December and the Christmas period was upon me and I had other things I needed to focus on. Sorry for those that questioned when I would have the next chapter, but it's pretty hard to respond to questions from 'guests'.

Edited: 11/3/16: Next chapter will be up in April. I'll be out of the country with limited or no net access for the rest of March.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch 21

Michelangelo lay there, curled up in the corner of the couch and staring lifelessly at the single switched on television where some old geezer droned on about rocks.

Raph quickly realised that Donnie had been the last one to use that particular television and Michelangelo had simply turned it on without bothering to change the station to something far more interesting; like watching grass grow. Whether he just turned it on for the noise or for appearance, Raph really couldn't tell but what he could see was an obviously hurting, lonely turtle who was deeply affected by what he'd unwillingly been forced to do.

And Raphael couldn't stand the sight.

No matter what he thought of the kid, it was just plain wrong to see him this way; it was like an abomination of nature or something. Michelangelo should have been smiling and laughing, loving life with such a joy no one in their circumstances had any right to and instead, here he was, miserable and hurting due to something completely out of his control.

Raph sighed in annoyance; he was functioning on less than three hours sleep and beyond tired. He really needed to rest up so he could go after Hun come nightfall but he found himself unable to just walk away. Fingering the handle of one of the sais holstered in his belt, Raph wrestled with his conscious and in the end, his conscious won out.

Without realising what he was doing, Raphael found himself approaching the listless turtle on the sofa. Michelangelo was only taking up a third of it but regardless, Raph reached down and roughly shoved his feet off. He then sat down beside him, earning a slightly startled reaction from the miserable ninja.

Raph leaned forward, reaching out to the coffee table in front to switch on their old Nintendo console and deftly plug in 'Super Mario Kart'. Then he casually tossed a controller into Michelangelo's lap and brought up the character selection screen.

Michelangelo stared wide-eyed at Raph as if wondering what the hothead was up to.

"Gonna pick a racer or do I have to do it for you?" Raph tried speaking in his typical brusque fashion but it came out softer than he intended.

Michelangelo shook his head rapidly and without a word sat up straight, selecting Princess Peach to Raphael's Bowser. The two ninja wordlessly played several rounds with Michelangelo losing badly each time, his head obviously not in the game, and Raph eventually couldn't stand the awkward silence any longer.

"Sorry for kickin' you so hard the other night."

Michelangelo turned an incredulous gaze on Raph once more, resulting in his avatar driving off a cliff. He shook his head again, "You were protecting Leo and I'm really glad about that or else... he might be gone by now... so don't be sorry, Raph."

"I'm not sorry for steppin' in to protect my brother, I'd do it again in an instant," Raph declared, correcting Michelangelo. "I am sorry about kickin' you with that much force though. It wasn't needed."

"You didn't know..." Michelangelo said quietly, twisting in his seat to face Raph better.

"Yeah... Next race's startin'," Raph warned. "You gonna race this time or just lose again?"

Michelangelo quickly whipped his head back towards the television screen just in time to see the start race countdown and scrambled to pick up his dropped controller again. "Could have waited... uh... Raph..."

Raph smirked slightly, "You snooze, you lose. That's somethin' Mikey always understood at least."

Michelangelo dropped his hands into his lap, swallowing as his gaze shifted downward. The reminder that he wasn't who they wanted him to be hurt but he felt as though he should be glad that Raph was talking about his lost brother and not simply in anger or taking it out on him for once.

"But you ain't him. You're you," Raph continued as if he'd never missed a beat. "You're snoozin' again."

"Sorry..." Michelangelo muttered, trying to recover his position in the race. He quickly slid up from eighth to seventh.

"Just so we're clear kid, I don't expect you to be him and I don't want you to be."

Mikey somehow resisted the urge to glance up at Raph again, managing instead to claw his way up to sixth in the game.

"If you were, it'd be as if you're tryin' to replace him and you can't. No one can." Raph's racer sailed across the finishing line and the race ended moments later with Mikey almost recovering to fifth.

"I only expect you to be you and don't you dare let what happened in the last couple a days change that," Raph continued, selecting the next course. "Don't let _us_ change you."

Mikey smiled. It still wasn't his normal, happy smile but it was a vast improvement on anything since they'd recovered him and Raph relaxed slightly.

"Thanks, Raph."

Raphael just grunted tiredly and continued to play.

"Sooo... let me guess, if I say anything about this, you'll beat the green off me?" Mikey ventured carefully.

It was Raph's turn to look shocked and stare at Mikey. "Why the _shell_ would I do that?"

"It's something my Raph says whenever he's being nice but don't worry, I know you're not him either," Mikey admitted, feeling bad he'd even brought it up and worrying that Raph would walk off in disgust or anger like every other time during the previous two weeks when forced to deal with him.

Disturbed, Raph shook his head, "Yeah... Look, while I'd really rather this whole talk thing didn't get out to the others, I'm not goin' to threaten you over it."

Mikey nodded, swallowing with relief and the two simply continued playing. As the races progressed, Mikey came closer and closer to Raph with each passing game but not quite beating him. Eventually the need to speak up again overwhelmed him.

"I don't know you either Raph... but I want to..." Mikey began hesitantly before continuing in a small voice, "... unless this is just a once off..."

Raphael sighed, knowing he deserved that reaction, "If it was, I would've left as soon as I said my piece." He noticed Mikey's relieved smile out of the corner of his eye and realised how warm the kid could be. Once again he felt bad for all the times he'd pushed Mikey away and while he couldn't promise not to do so ever again, he knew at least he'd never treat him that way again.

"Come on brat, I know you can play better than that so how about you give me some _real_ competition already!" Raphael suddenly taunted with a small smirk.

Mikey laughed lightly, "You're on, Raph!"

-:-

Raphael fought fiercely against the yawning. They'd been playing for nearly two hours now and he'd reached the point where he was really feeling the lack of sleep. Mikey had even actually started winning the odd race, though Raph was sure it was more to do with how tired he was than the fact that Mikey was loosening up as time went on. Neither had spoken much since they reached their understanding, other than the occasional good natured taunt about the other's gaming skills.

Right now, Raph wanted nothing more than to go stretch out in his hammock and dream of better days but something was holding him back. Despite the fact that Mikey had finally begun to relax and even laugh a little, Raph still somehow felt that Mikey shouldn't really be left alone so he stifled another yawn and kept playing.

"Now who's snoozing?" Mikey suddenly asked, not even sparing a look from the screen. "Hey, I know you didn't get much sleep last night so maybe you should just go to bed?"

Raph peeked to his left at the younger mutant on the couch beside him. Mikey was sitting with one leg dangling off the seat, his foot barely touching the floor and his other leg drawn up, foot on the cushion with his knee to his chest. His chin rested atop his oversized knee-pad and his arms were wrapped around his leg, holding the controller out in front. Mikey swayed with the motion of his controller's movement as he kept his eyes glued to the screen in front.

"I'll go soon," Raph promised. "After the next two out of three."

"Does this one count then?" Mikey asked innocently before crowing, "'cause I just whipped your shell, dude!"

Raph faced forward irritably; he was definitely more tired than he thought. "Better clear out your ear holes, kid, I said after the next!"

Mikey snickered slightly as he stared distantly ahead. "I got this game now so you'll be gone in two."

Raph snorted derisively and concentrated all the harder, managing to come in first a split second before the other-dimensional ninja. "You were sayin'?"

There was no response from Mikey so Raph automatically started the next race. Suddenly about halfway through the second circuit, Raph realised Mikey had stopped playing when his controller dropped noisily to the ground. Mikey seemed to sit up straighter, although seemingly in a daze and as Raph turned to look, the younger turtle drew his T-phone from his belt and began to dial.

Raph stared in confusion before noticing the freckled ninja's eyes and suddenly Michelangelo's earlier words came to mind.

"_and if you dudes got me back here, then I was supposed to phone him and leave the line open..."_

All of a sudden everything fell into place, except for _how_ Mikey was back under the villain's control and Raph swiftly reacted, reaching out and snatching the communications device from Mikey's grasp. He threw it hard across the room, screaming, "_Donnie! Get the shell out here now_!"

As soon as the T-phone was ripped from his hands, Mikey punched at Raph's face blindingly fast, leaving Raph unable to fully dodge in time. While Raph recovered his balance, Mikey leapt from the couch, jumping over the back and running straight towards the discarded phone even as Donnie emerged from his lab.

"What's going on, Raph?"

"It's the kid! Somehow he's bein' controlled again!" Raph snapped, quickly racing after Mikey to stop him recovering the phone.

"What?" Donnie asked in shock as Mikey stopped by the fallen T-phone. Stunned, he watched Mikey scoop it from the ground with his foot, directly into his hand.

"Get the damned tranks already!" Raph barked impatiently. Coming into range, he promptly tackled Mikey, knocking him to the ground while simultaneously elbowing the back of his head. Raph quickly took the moment's distraction to pry the T-phone from the younger's hand but before he could toss it away once more, Mikey twisted within his grip, all but sliding out from underneath the hothead.

The desperation Raph felt was intense. Last thing he wanted was to hurt Mikey again, yet his family's safety came first. "Hurry up with that damned trank, Don!" he yelled furiously as he struggled against the lithe turtle. Raph skilfully blocked several brutal blows before managing to trap Mikey in a hold with which he could make use of his superior strength. However, Mikey never let up his struggle to break free, all the while his eyes creepily blank and his face expressionless.

"Give Michelangelo back the T-phone and step away from him, Raph," Donnie suddenly commanded.

"You want me to _what_?" Raph snapped, disbelief almost bowling him over as he chanced a glance to see Donnie striding purposefully towards them.

"Quickly, Raph! Before someone ends up hurt!" Donnie pressed, his voice somehow calm despite the urgency of his words. "Please, just trust me."

"Fine!" Raph grumbled before jumping off Michelangelo and tossing the T-phone back to him.

Mikey caught the phone without pause, immediately tilting his head down to look at it as he started pressing the touch screen once more.

Suddenly a dart buried itself into Mikey's biceps and to Raph's surprise, the kid didn't even flinch, just kept fiddling with the damn phone screen. Finally, a little less than a minute later, Mikey crumpled to a heap on the floor, T-phone tumbling from limp fingers.

"Okay, now you get to help me carry him back to the lab," Donnie proclaimed, already moving forward to pick up the unconscious ninja from the ground and ignoring the abandoned communications device.

Finally Raph could stand no more. "Are you freakin' insane, brainiac? Shut down that damned call first! Before we're tracked down!"

"No need," Donnie responded briskly as he pulled one of Michelangelo's arms over his shoulder. "Before coming back out here with the tranquilliser dart, I took down the Shell-cell network. Michelangelo's phone has nothing to connect to."

Raph stared in disbelief for a moment. "You got a real bad habit of not sharin' all the info, Don!" he accused, lifting up Mikey's other arm.

Donnie coloured in embarrassment. "There was no time! Besides, we have no idea if he may have been able to improvise or not upon hearing the plan. The best course of action in this case was simply allowing him to continue following his orders. Someone could have ended up hurt otherwise and you _know_ Michelangelo doesn't want that. It was what he was the most upset about when he awoke earlier."

Raph bit back his response having seen for himself how Mikey had been and knowing Donnie was right, even if he didn't like it. Then between the two of them, they quickly carried the insensate ninja back to the bed in the infirmary, where Donnie immediately started securing him again with a sad sigh.

"What happened out there?" Leo asked anxiously from where he was still laying; Donnie had told him he and Raph were dealing with things and to stay put 'or else'.

"Somehow Mikey was under Hun's control again and decided to try placin' that phone call," Raph explained quickly, before turning back to Donnie and exploding. "How the _shell_ could this have _happened_? You said he was fuckin' _clear_!"

"_Raphael_!" Splinter's voice admonished from the doorway. "You know such language is not tolerated in this home, most especially towards another family member!"

"Sorry..." Raph muttered, trying to sound contrite. He still kept his gaze firmly fixed on Donnie though, waiting for answers.

"It is a very good question though," Splinter went on. "How _is _thispossible?"

Donnie sighed again, before getting the equipment for a blood sample. "I'm not entirely certain, Sensei. Like I said, it couldn't have been a build up from the previous doses. It had to have been..." he trailed off as his thoughts raced, pausing in his explanation while taking the sample.

"Had to have been what, Don?" Leo prompted, sitting up on the edge of his bed, feet dangling over.

"Given the timing and the circumstances, I can see two distinct possibilities."

"Which are?"

"Some kind of time released capsule or device, either placed under his skin, possibly under where one of those tracers was embedded or, more likely, in the one cup of water Hun made him drink." Donnie finished taking Mikey's blood sample and collapsed into his nearby chair to begin running the tests on it. "Hun must have known Michelangelo remembered everything. If that's the case, then he knew Michelangelo would tell us what happened so to be safe, he made him take the time released dose without knowing about it."

"Then there could be more?" Raph questioned in horror.

"Doubtful but just to be on the safe side, we shouldn't allow Michelangelo to be alone at any time over the next few days."

"What about tonight then?" Raph asked. "We still gotta go after Hun."

Leo looked torn between duty and knowing Michelangelo couldn't be left alone.

"The three of you must continue with your mission," Splinter said firmly. "I will stay here by Michelangelo's side in case he awakens. He will remain under the influence for a number of hours yet, yes?"

"Yes, up to twelve based on what little information I was able to procure," Donnie replied. "There's a chance we might make it home before the chemical wears off and he regains his free will; it all depends on how long we need to be out there."

"In that case, you will leave Michelangelo secured while the three of you are gone and I will remain by his side to offer spiritual support," Splinter reiterated firmly. "Raphael, I suggest you go get some sleep before the mission tonight."

"Yes Sensei," Raph replied, reluctantly moving towards the door of the infirmary.

"Raph?" Leo called, making Raph pause in his tracks to look back. "I thought you were going to bed a couple of hours ago?"

"I was," Raph smiled tightly before continuing on his way and calling over his shoulder, "but I felt like a couple rounds of 'Mario Kart' first."

-:-

Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael had left for their mission a couple of hours previously, leaving Splinter alone to watch over the sedated Michelangelo. He'd brought his meditation mat and a number of candles into the room, arranging and lighting them in a circle around Michelangelo's bed, in the hopes of their soothing aroma helping to ease the young ninja's troubled soul.

Splinter settled cross-legged on the mat and gently reached out his mind to the turtle who would be his son if only he wasn't from another reality. In truth, he very much wanted to treat him as a fifth son but every time he attempted to during the last couple of weeks, Michelangelo had instinctively shied away. It was nothing obvious that anyone else would have noticed, in fact, Splinter believed Michelangelo didn't even realise he was doing it; only someone extremely observant or of Splinter's spiritual prowess or better would even have picked up on the small signs. Despite this, Splinter was unwilling to give up, especially with Michelangelo so far from home and needing to know someone cared.

To Splinter, the surface of his young charge's mind felt unusually devoid of emotion or spirit; there was nothing hinting that Michelangelo himself was even present within. Deeper down in the hidden depths of Michelangelo's mind however, was another story. As he reached out mentally, Splinter could feel the distress and sense of fear emanating from deep inside, so it was there that Splinter tried approaching. He extended a mental hand, reaching out and calling, trying to guide Michelangelo past whatever was blocking him from being in control of his own body. Unfortunately, he couldn't pass the mental wall holding Michelangelo behind and neither did Michelangelo seem to notice him.

Splinter's ears twitched as a noise from the physical world invaded his consciousness and he instantly allowed his mind to resurface. The sight that met him of Michelangelo struggling violently against the straps like the previous night nearly broke his heart and Splinter quickly picked up the T-phone holding it towards the younger ninja.

"I will hold your T-phone so you may make your call," Splinter offered softly. If Michelangelo tried to hold it, he'd have been unable to reach with the other hand thanks to the straps holding him firmly in place.

Once Michelangelo dialled, he still seemed anxious to take the device and Splinter realised he must have been told to make sure the line stayed open, so he handed it to him. Splinter then stepped away, watching as Michelangelo finally calmed down, physically at least. He quickly slipped back into a semi-meditative state, reaching out once more in an attempt to soothe the freckled turtle's spirit.

For nearly an hour, there was no further response but eventually the ninja master began noticing Michelangelo's personality filtering through to the surface and Splinter wrapped his mental warmth around him, embracing Michelangelo as if he were his own. While barely noticeable, Michelangelo initially tensed up but Splinter, pushing away the hurt, ignored the rejection. Instead he continued his efforts to reassure the younger mutant and moments later, though still unable to communicate in return, Michelangelo collapsed into Splinter's mental embrace.

More than a half hour passed before Splinter sensed movement from the bed once more. When he opened his eyes again, Klunk was on Michelangelo's plastron, meowing piteously and pawing desperately at the turtle's face. Moving close, Splinter picked the orange and white cat from the still turtle, dropping him to the floor.

"You must go Klunk," Splinter commanded firmly. "Now is not a good time, shoo!"

The cat ignored the giant rat, leaping straight back onto Michelangelo and sticking his cool, damp nose against the prone turtle's face, meowing insistently.

Michelangelo suddenly blinked, his bright blue irises making a brief appearance before closing his eyes tiredly. The hand holding his T-phone close fell limp as the exhausted and distraught turtle finally returned to himself. Satisfied, Klunk meowed again before purring and curling up on Michelangelo's plastron.

Noticing the change in Michelangelo, Splinter reached out his hand to the turtle's forehead and brushed it lightly, "Everything is alright now, Michelangelo. Do not allow what has happened to distress you further."

Michelangelo sniffled and croaked, "It's hard not to, Sensei. Why..."

Splinter pulled away from the contact to release the bindings still holding the lost ninja down. "Why what, Michelangelo?" he prompted gently.

"Why'd you let me call Hun? Now he'll be on his way here and you guys will lose your home again..."

"I did not allow you to call him and nor did you. I simply allowed you to believe you did so you would stop continuing to hurt yourself in the attempt to follow his orders," Splinter explained quietly. He picked up the protesting cat, placing him on the ground again and helped Michelangelo to sit up.

"Really?" Michelangelo whimpered in disbelief.

"Yes, really, Michelangelo. Donatello did something to your phone that made it so no matter who you tried to call, only his computer would respond. I am afraid that I do not do well with technology so I cannot explain any further than that. You will need to ask Donatello when he returns home if you wish to know more." Michelangelo nodded uncertainly and Splinter added, "Now, come to the kitchen while I prepare you something to eat. You must be quite hungry by now."

Michelangelo looked ready to protest so Splinter simply fixed the young ninja with a look that brooked no argument and began walking away. His sensitive hearing picked up on Michelangelo's reluctant footsteps trailing behind and he smiled in relief.

Once they reached the kitchen, Splinter instructed Michelangelo to sit while he began warming the soup he'd prepared earlier. "I am afraid it is only canned," Splinter apologised.

Michelangelo only nodded, his eyes downcast as he stroked a purring Klunk who had followed and jumped up into his lap once he sat down. Minutes later, Splinter placed a steaming mug of hot chicken soup in front of Michelangelo and sat in the chair beside him, regarding the other-dimensional turtle seriously.

Fiddling one handed with the mug on the table, while resting his other on the ginger cat, Michelangelo finally asked, "Where are... where is everyone anyway?"

"They have returned to where you were being held in hopes of finding a clue to Hun's current whereabouts."

Michelangelo just continued playing with the handle and staring down at it.

"It was something they needed to do. They did not wish to leave you, Michelangelo," Splinter consoled gently as he watched the stricken turtle in concern.

"I wouldn't blame them if they did since I've proved more than once that I can't be trusted..." Michelangelo muttered miserably.

Splinter canted his head slightly. "Did you wish to do things contrary to the safety of our home and family?" he asked evenly.

Now Michelangelo finally reacted. "Of course not, Sensei!" He whipped his head up, looking the grey furred rodent directly in the eyes.

"Then why would anyone believe that _you_ cannot be trusted?"

"But..." Michelangelo spluttered. He shook as he clutched tightly at Klunk who squeaked in protest. Mikey immediately loosened his grip again and Klunk immediately pushed closer. "What if... what if it happens again? That was the third time it's happened and I don't even know_ how!_ No one even _did_ anything to me this time!"

"Donatello believes Hun slipped a delayed release capsule filled with that vile substance into the water he gave you and that that is how it happened," Splinter explained gently.

Michelangelo's eyes filled with fear. "Then what if there's more?"

"That is doubtful, my... Michelangelo."

"But _what if?_"

"Then for the next couple of days we will simply make sure you are not alone at any time," Splinter smiled warmly. "You do not need to worry, Michelangelo. We are here for you."

"You'd all be better off it I wasn't here though..." he sniffled. "I wish... I just want to go home... I want my father..."

Splinter instantly moved closer, wrapping his warm, furry arms around his other-dimensional son. "I know you do, Michelangelo and I am so sorry that I cannot help you return home faster," he murmured as Michelangelo leaned into his warmth, "but know this. You are not alone. You may not have grown up in this world with us but you are still one of my sons."

"... But you're not my father..."

-:-

to be continued.

* * *

A/N: To make things easier, I have started a new 'story' titled 'Tales From AOtGO'. This is where all future drabbles, one shots and short chaptered AOtGO stories will be posted. Only main stories will continue to have separate entries. To kick things off, I have reposted a drabble I wrote for AOtGO (set before the loss of 2k3 Mikey) and that is where my AOtGO Christmas special is being posted.


	23. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.

A/N: *deep breath* I've had a lot going on in the past couple of months, been away from home for the better part of a month on holiday, including to Japan (freaking amazing country!) and Hong Kong, my laptop having an illicit affair with a cup of juice on the plane (looong story but let's just say I will never ask someone to hold it while I take a photo of Mount Fuji from above again! Said photo is posted on my DA account XD) and well, let's just say the motherboard got a little... overheated? The techie in Brisbane supposedly saved my hard drive, with work for several unpublished chapters of various stories on it... but I didn't have a computer to check with at the time and after I got home and bought a new laptop, I discovered the moron ONLY copied C drive and only the 'default' folders like 'My Documents' etc. Ugh... I had EVERY thing saved to D drive... Then I get home to discover my desktop PC wouldn't work either... (As a result, I haven't been getting my e-mails yet) Then a week later, I came home from work to find my home's back door kicked in and my housemate's bedroom ransacked. I believe they were scared off before they could enter my room.

So yeah... as a result, I've been quite thrown by recent events and that's why this chapter is a couple of weeks later than I intended. Sorry about that.

The final chapters for 'AotGO – Far From Home' and 'The Situation' should be coming within a week or so.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch 22

"You'd all be better off it I wasn't here though..." Mikey sniffled. "I wish... I just want to go home... I want my father..."

Splinter instantly moved closer, wrapping his warm, furry arms around his other-dimensional son. "I know you do, Michelangelo and I am so sorry that I cannot help you to return home faster," he murmured as Michelangelo leaned into his comforting touch, "but know this. You are not alone. You may not have grown up in this world with us but you are still one of my sons."

"... But you're not _my_ father..."

Splinter stiffened at the unintentionally rejecting words and drew back enough to look at Michelangelo without actually releasing the physical contact he knew the young turtle needed. "What do you mean by that, Michelangelo?" he asked gently, doing his best to mask the hurt in his voice.

Michelangelo shrugged in the embrace and Splinter was relieved that he didn't try to extricate himself. "I... don't know, Sensei..." he admitted quietly. "Just some part of me has known it since I first met you... and then when I felt you in my mind earlier, I _really_ knew."

"Is it because I appear so different to your own Splinter?"

"I don't know," Michelangelo repeated miserably.

"It's not what you look like, it's what you feel like," he went on, a frustrated edge entering his voice. "It's like... when I first saw Leo, Raph and Donnie, they seemed familiar even though they look nothing like my bros, but I somehow just knew who they were inside even though my eyes didn't believe it at first."

"They attacked me straight away and that really shocked me," Mikey chuckled faintly with misplaced humour. "It both made it both harder and easier to see who they were, if you can believe that. And then when they started talking to me, their personalities seemed even more wrong but somehow, I still just _knew_ who they were. When they brought me back here and I saw you for the first time, Sensei, it was different; I didn't recognise you. At all!"

Michelangelo stopped talking for a moment to really look up at the concerned rodent who was trying to comfort him. "You were a complete stranger to me, Sensei." Realising he'd once again unintentionally hurt Splinter, Mikey quickly added, "Don't get me wrong though, there's nothing wrong with that and I do really like you! You've been nothing but kind and welcoming to me, even if you _did_ keep me confined to the sewers the last two weeks..."

"You know that was only until I could be sure the four of you could work together if necessary," Splinter explained calmly.

"Yeah, I get it, Sensei... but I'm used to being able to go out if I want to, as long as I let someone know."

"I understand Michelangelo, it has also been the same for my sons over the last several years. However, you do not yet know the dangers of this world," Splinter reminded gently.

Mikey nodded and pulled back, staring down at Klunk who had gone to sleep in his lap.

"I am truly sorry we are unable to take you to the Nexus at this time," Splinter added softly. "If I could, know that I would return you to where you rightfully belong immediately."

Mikey drew in a deep breath, straightening his posture and smiling brightly, "It's the thought that counts Sensei, and since I know I'll get home eventually, it's all good. I just... I don't want to hurt anyone again..." The smile faded fast, replaced by a miserable, guilty look.

"Even Raphael?" Splinter asked, hoping to elicit another smile from the young ninja.

"Yeah," Mikey half laughed, "even Raph."

"Well do not worry, for I know you will not," Splinter assured him confidently. "Now, eat your soup before it becomes completely cold, Michelangelo."

Mikey obediently lifted the mug to his mouth before chuckling, "It already is."

"Would you like me to reheat..." Splinter trailed off as Michelangelo drained the cup in one large mouthful. "I do hope you will not be sick," he admonished, ears flattening in dismay.

"Heh! Same."

"Would you like some more?"

Mikey shook his head, "No thanks." He'd meant it when he agreed to not wanting to be sick.

Splinter settled back into his chair and regarded Michelangelo thoughtfully. "How much experience do you have within the Astral Plain?" he eventually asked.

"None."

"Hmm, I see," Splinter mused. "Then how much do you know about it?"

"Not much," Mikey admitted. "Master Splinter's only started teaching Leo astral stuff. The rest of us aren't good enough at meditation, or interested enough," he shrugged.

Splinter raised his eyebrows, displeased by the answer. "I see. Well, I would like to begin teaching you, Michelangelo."

"Me?" Mikey squeaked in shock. "But Sensei, I suck at meditation!"

"And you will continue to do so of you keep telling yourself such things."

"But you _know_ how bad my focus is," Mikey blurted. Then he looked away, "I've got no chance."

"That is simply not so, Michelangelo. I will admit your basic meditation skills are lacking, but that does not mean you are incapable. I will guide you in for the first few times, help you to learn how to traverse the path and the feel associated with the Astral Plain itself," Splinter offered in a tone that brooked no argument. "In truth, every person has their own individual way or path. However, it is much more easily discovered once you have become familiar with how the plain works."

"Why do you want to waste your time on me then?" Mikey asked, staring down still.

Splinter felt a rush of anger at the self deprecating attitude but schooled his tone and expression. This was not the first time he'd noticed, or wondered why, this Michelangelo seemed to have such little self confidence. His own lost son had also had a similar problem, but nowhere near so pronounced and he'd usually hidden it with over the top bragging and boasting, annoying and fooling those around him into believing otherwise.

"I do not wish to hear you speak so again, Michelangelo. I will not be 'wasting my time', as you put it," Splinter insisted, trying not to speak too sharply. He took a calming breath, then continued. "In the lives we are forced to lead, I believe meditation and the accompanying skills within the Astral Plain to be essential. For one thing, it can help to increase your mental fortitude to adversity. On many an occasion, my family and I have used the skills gained from such disciplines to help one another, even when apart, as well as to ward off enemy attacks from within the Astral Plain itself. Such skills could possibly even help you to fight off such evil as you have personally faced in the last few days."

At that, Mikey looked up, suddenly more interested.

"There is also the chance it may help you to mentally contact your own family and at least let them know you are alive and safe," Splinter added. "However, I cannot guarantee this will work across dimensions and you would need to coincide your attempt with one or more of them also being in either deep meditation or within the Astral Plain itself."

Now Mikey sat up straight again, unintentionally dislodging the cat from his lap. Klunk meowed loudly in protest and dug his claws in deep to hold on. Mikey yelped with pain and quickly moved a hand under the orange and white kitty, lifting him back onto his lap.

"You really think that would help?" Mikey asked excitedly once Klunk was settled again. "'cause Leo tried to help me once and I just couldn't do it."

"It is a _possibility_, Michelangelo," the sentient rat reiterated. "The timing on both sides would need to be right and it will take you some time to get to the skill level where trying is even a possibility."

Mikey wilted in disappointment, but Splinter continued.

"But is is a possibility and I do believe you have the potential to try this eventually. You have a gift of being able to perceive things others do not even notice and this will only help you in this endeavour," he explained. "Your lack of focus does concern me, however. My own Michelangelo also had such problems but yours seem to be far more pronounced than his ever were. I do not know why this is so but if you will allow me, I will do my utmost to help you."

Mikey fidgeted uncomfortably, causing Klunk to hold on tight with claws again. "A few years or so back, Donnie told me and Master Splinter that he thinks I probably have ADHD," he admitted reluctantly, "but he wasn't certain and we didn't have the resources to really check for sure..."

Splinter canted his head curiously, "What is this 'ADHD'?"

Mikey shrugged, "Something that makes it hard for me to focus on one thing. I dunno... you'd have to ask Donnie about it, I didn't totally get it."

"I will make sure to do just that," Splinter promised. "Now, did you also tell your other brothers?"

"Nope," Mikey shook his head. "Donnie didn't know for sure and he and Master Splinter figured it would just make Raph and Leo's teasing of me worse if they knew."

Splinter's ears flattened. "Even so, I believe they should have been told. Such knowledge, or lack thereof, could make all the difference during a mission."

Mikey nodded numbly, wondering if it could have made a difference to how his brothers often treated him topside. However, Donnie's hurtful whining words from a few months ago, _"Why do I always get stuck with Mikey?"_ flashed through his mind and he doubted it.

"Are you certain you would not like some more soup, or perhaps a drink of water or tea?"

"Huh?" Mikey's head shot up as he was dislodged from his reverie. "No thanks. I'm fine, Sensei."

"Alright," Splinter nodded, then stood. "Then I suggest you place Klunk somewhere he will be unable to disturb us, while I move the meditation matt and candles back to the Zen room. Meet me there once you have done so and we will begin your first lesson.

"Hai, Sensei!" Mikey clutched Klunk protectively to his plastron as he stood. "Uh, Sensei? Why not the dojo? Isn't the Zen room your personal meditation room?"

Splinter turned and smiled warmly at Michelangelo. "It is not. Occasionally Leonardo has been known to make use of it with me. In fact, everyone uses it, but usually only when we conduct deeper meditation exercises as a group, like those where we visit the Astral Plain. The serenity of the Zen room is far more conducive to such disciplines than the dojo, a room designed for action and therefore, in your case, distraction."

-:-

Mikey stopped hesitantly in the doorway, "I've put Klunk in the garage, Sensei."

Splinter chuckled lightly, "Then I hope for your sake he does no damage. I am sure you recall the consequences of the previous occasion."

Glancing back in the direction of the garage, Mikey stepped back, "Maybe I should go get him?"

"No. He is there now and will no doubt find his way into the sewers before long," Splinter said. "Come. Sit and make yourself comfortable."

"Comfortable doing meditation?" Mikey laughed. "I didn't know you had a sense of humour, Sensei."

"Oh yes, I have a highly developed one. However, that was not a joke. Now, sit," he repeated gently.

Mikey entered, allowing the soft, muted toned curtain to swish against his shell as it fell into place. Soon he was seated cross legged, a metre away from Splinter and looking across at him expectantly.

"Now, I do not usually use such audio aides but I believe in your case, it may be of help. Which sounds do you find the most relaxing, _without_ putting you to sleep? The sound of the ocean? Rain? Perhaps birdsong?"

"I don't know," Mikey shrugged. "Other than hearing them on TV sometimes, I haven't really heard them."

Splinter arched a furry eyebrow and played them one by one.

Mikey smiled, eyes closed as he listened attentively to each. "They're all nice Sensei, but I think the rain'd put me to sleep for sure," he chuckled. "Maybe the waves?"

Splinter nodded approvingly as he set the ocean waves soundtrack to playing on repeat.

"Now," Splinter said quietly, calmly, "I wish for you to close your eyes and simply breathe like you would normally during meditation. Once you are in a peaceful state, while still keeping your breathing slow and even, I wish for you to open your mind to my presence."

Mikey nodded, already breathing slow and deep.

"You were aware of me touching your mind earlier, yes?" Splinter asked. Upon seeing Michelangelo open his mouth to answer, Splinter added, "A simple nod will suffice. Do not break your rhythm by speaking, Michelangelo."

When Mikey nodded in time with his breathing, Splinter continued, "That is what I will be doing now. Once I am certain you are deep enough in a meditative state, I will join you to begin guiding you into the Astral Plain itself. You must not fight against my presence, nor push me away, or we will need to start all over again. Do you believe you can trust me enough for that?"

"Mmm," Mikey hummed in agreement. He'd liked the comforting feeling of Splinter in his mind earlier. Splinter's reassuring influence had helped a lot when he realised he'd lost control again; when he'd started coming out of it enough to become aware, yet still unable to move as he wanted. It had been that moment when he'd realised that this Splinter truly wasn't his father like he'd instinctively suspected all along. However, that moment was also when he realised how comfortable he felt around the older rat.

Knowing Splinter Sensei _wasn't_ his father, he'd felt as though he'd be betraying Master Splinter if he considered him as such and that was why he couldn't help but blurt out those words earlier. The words that he'd known would hurt the ancient rat...

"Michelangelo," came the gentle voice, "you must focus if you wish to be successful in this endeavour."

Mikey felt a blush rise and he fought the urge to apologise, instead focussing on his breathing once more.

-:-

A warm, caring feeling surrounded him and instinctively, Mikey wanted to simply melt into it, to let it drown out his worries and fears. "Sensei?" he ventured moments later.

He couldn't see the answering smile but he sure felt it. "Yes, Michelangelo," a not-voice from all around him confirmed.

Mikey tried to open his eyes, only to be gently admonished.

"We are only in meditation still, not the Astral Plain. If you try to open them now, you will simply be right back where we started in the Zen room. Now come."

Mikey felt the warm presence press closer and tug gently on the essence of his very being. He allowed it to pull him along, wanting to help but not really sure how.

"Do not worry about aiding me," the not-voice of Splinter chuckled. "As I told you earlier, when you do not know the pathway to the Astral Plain, it is difficult. I am bringing you along my path now."

"So once I've been down your path a few times, I'll be able to follow it whenever?" Mikey asked in confusion.

"No," Splinter answered. "Instead, you will gain a feel for recognising the pathway and discover your own. Each person's path is unique to them."

"Then how am I able to move on your path, even if you're dragging me?" Mikey asked curiously, wishing he could open his eyes and watch. This all felt so weird to him, yet the connection to Splinter Sensei felt stronger than ever. He felt completely surrounded by him, though there was no sensation of being smothered; it was kind of like being wrapped in a favourite, fuzzy blanket.

"I've had to first bring you back into my own self, my own mind, in order to lead you," Splinter explained.

"Oh! So that's why everything feels, smells and tastes like you?"

"Tastes?"

"Oops!" Mikey chuckled sheepishly. "I'm sorry Sensei... that was just weird, even for me..."

Amusement flowed from his spiritual master and Mikey was surprised to find amusement also had a taste. If he was in his own body still, he was sure he'd be bright red from embarrassment right now.

"You are not wrong, my student. I just never heard any of my sons point that out when they were learning," Splinter replied. "Yes, by being in my mindscape, by simply being on my pathway to the Astral Plain, you are essentially completely surrounded by my very being. For the aware, it would be filling every one of their senses. This only proves to show that you have much potential, Michelangelo."

"So this is why doing this needed such complete trust?" Mikey asked in sudden realisation.

"Indeed," Splinter sounded proud.

Of him.

It wasn't often someone had pride towards him and neither could he remember the last time he felt it from his own family, let alone anyone else. In fact, he realised, he liked it. It was definitely something he could get used to.

"However, try not to pay too much attention to the feel of me, as that is not what this exercise is in aid of, but rather the feel of the pathway itself."

"Hai, Sensei."

-:-

All of a sudden, bright light and blue sky exploded into existence and Mikey gasped in awe at the sight, even while wondering if he should be closing his eyes again so as not to 'wake up'.

Splinter appeared beside him, chuckling lightly at Michelangelo's reaction. "It is quite alright to look around as we are now in the Astral Plain properly. This is why you now have a form and eyes to look around with."

Mikey turned, staring in wonder and excitement in every possible direction, including down. There was soft grass in between his toes and in the distance was a large Japanese style mansion, surrounded by lush green grounds with a variety of flowers, gigantic bonsai styled trees, a stream and various paths laid out across the grounds; there was even a rock and sand garden. It was all very Zen and while laid out, as far as he could tell, to a Feng Shui design, there was still a tonne of natural beauty. Mikey had never seen anything like it before and certainly had never imagined doing so now.

"This is what the Astral Plain looks like?" Mikey asked in awe. "Why would you _ever_ want to leave?"

"Because it is not real and no," Splinter smiled serenely. "The Astral Plain is shaped by the individuals within. If there are many people within the plain in close proximity to each other, to some degree, it becomes influenced by all. You are not yet experienced enough to be able to help shape our surroundings just yet, so I took the liberty of doing so myself."

"Oh..." Mikey took a step forward, instinct wanting him to throw himself onto the grass and simply bask in the warm sunshine. It felt delicious!

"This is from one of my earliest memories, from before I was mutated."

"It's beautiful, Sensei!"

"Indeed," Splinter nodded. "Since you have never been out of the city and you speak Japanese, I thought you may appreciate seeing the home my Master grew up and trained in."

"Your Master?" Mikey questioned curiously as he crouched down to rub his large hand over the soft tufts of grass. "But not you?" he asked, glancing up at Splinter in confusion.

"I lived here for about a year," Splinter confirmed. "At least I believe it was about that long. It is hard to be certain of the passage of time, as that was when I was merely the pet of one of the most kind hearted and beautiful women you could ever hope to meet. After she died, I was taken in by my Master and brought to New York to start a new life."

Mikey nodded, listening intently, yet also distracted by the wonder all about him. There was a feeling of intense warmth emanating from this place that he knew had absolutely nothing to do with the memory of the sun. And that smell! The glorious smells of nature, so much stronger than he could ever have imagined, almost overwhelmingly so. Suddenly, Splinter's words hit him like Leatherhead after hearing the name of Kraang, and it was all he could do not to be bowled over.

"Sen...sei?" he asked slowly, trying to make sure he'd heard right before simply bombarding Splinter with questions the ninja master might not like to hear.

"Yes, Michelangelo?" Splinter asked, concerned by the sudden change in his charge's mood.

"Were..." Mikey swallowed apprehensively, "were you like us?"

"What do you mean by that?" Splinter canted his head, wondering what was wrong.

For a moment, Mikey felt frustration, not quite sure how to phrase his question delicately enough not to upset Splinter again like he had in the kitchen earlier.

"Like my bros and I... We were normal, ordinary turtles. We were supposed to be just pets..." he explained, licking his lips nervously. "Were you... just a normal rat before you were mutated?"

-:-

To be continued.

* * *

A/N: News just in! 'And One to Grow On' won 3rd place for 'Best Action/Adventure' and gained an Honorable Mention for 'Best Michelangelo'. Also 'Snatched' won 2nd place for 'Best Villain' in the 2015 Annual TMNT Fanfiction Competition.

Thank you everyone who voted for me. There were some fantastic stories in the competition this year and I'm happy to know you guys feel that mine are among them :-)


	24. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall story, little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.

A/N: The ongoing 2k12 side of this story will be starting within the next week or two. Honestly, it's a little earlier than I really wanted but with 'The Situation' now officially concluded, it's time. If you are interested, keep an eye out for 'AOtGO – Aftermath'.

It turns out that this story has been nominated in the TMNT Mature Fan Fic Awards in two categories - 'Best Portrayal of a Turtle' - Mikey, and also 'Best Tragedy'. I was also nominated for 'Best Dark Fiction' - 'Freedom' and 'Best Overall Multi-Chapter' - 'The Situation'.  
Thank you to whoever nominated my stories :-) Check out the list of fics nominated, there are a lot of awesome stories listed there!

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch 23

"Talk to me, team," Leonardo commanded, trying and failing to quell the worry twisting his gut from projecting into his voice. Ever since they lost Mikey all those months ago, his fear over losing another on a mission had affected him so much that he simply stopped leading them out. In fact, he actively began discouraging his remaining brothers from going anywhere unless absolutely necessary; something Donnie had only been too willing to go along with, preferring to hole up in his lab instead anyway. Only Raph had remained recalcitrant, going so far as to refuse to work with even Casey at the time. Now though, by necessity, they were out and about again, originally on Splinter's orders three weeks ago, and now by the need to hunt down Hun before he disappeared with that terrifying chemical that never should have been created.

It killed Leo that once again he was forced to wait as a lookout from the van. It was however, the only way Donnie would agree to allow him to come; at least this way he was nearby just in case... Being injured while his team needed him was the worst; it wasn't just the sprained ankle and various stitched cuts, but also the problem of his concussion. The headache itself was mostly gone, as was the dizziness, but he knew from experience that it could take days, or longer if he was unlucky, to completely clear up, and the last thing he wanted was to cause those he cared about further trouble, or worse, danger.

"_Again?"_ Raph's annoyed voice came too loudly over his headset. "_Jeez! Just dial down on the mother hen act already, would ya Leo?"_

Leo scowled. About the only good thing about being stuck in the van, was he didn't have to hide his expression to prevent Raph from realising he was getting to him.

"_Same as before, Leo. There's nobody here, bla bla. No sign that anyone's_ been_ here since we clocked 'em last night!"_ Raph continued. _"We're wastin' our time even lookin' here instead of other, _known_, Dragon hideouts!"_

"And we will begin searching those once we have finished here," Leo smoothly reminded him. There were so many other possible locations to check, but he had a niggling feeling about this place, a feeling that both told him to check it out and warned him to stay away at the same time. Leo only wished he could be out there _with_ his brothers, where he belonged, not left behind like some invalid.

Even before Hun had taken him, he'd seen glimpses of Michelangelo's hidden potential; one much like Mikey's, a natural athleticism that left Leo jealous as all shell that he had to work so hard to move even half as easily as the other turtle. Unfortunately, Michelangelo's focus was far worse than Mikey's had ever been, even on its worst days, though there was one good thing at least; unlike his own brother, Michelangelo never showed signs of laziness. It was just a terrible tragedy that his skills were only truly brought to the light under such horrible circumstances.

Leo sighed, breaking himself out of his reverie when he realised Raph was speaking again.

"_... one thing of interest though, we found a computer. Don's tryin' to see if he can find anythin' useful on it now."_

The alarm bells in Leo's head suddenly started to sound. "Don," he commanded, knowing his genius brother would also be listening over his own headset, "just remove the hard drive and check it over later. We need to leave. Now!"

"_That's not really a good idea, Leo,"_ Donnie dismissed him calmly. _"There could be tracking software installed that would activate as soon as it's accessed, or emitters embedded within, which could lead them straight to us."_

"Couldn't you check before taking it home, like you did with Michelangelo last night?"

"_That would all depend on how it's set up, if there is even anything. Either way, that would take time we simply don't have,"_ Donnie pointed out. _"Hun has that chemical in his possession and we _need_ to retrieve it before he does some serious damage. Who knows what perverse use he'll put such a vile substance to."_

"_What do you mean _'before'_?"_ Raph growled in disgust. _"You _saw_ what that bastard did to the kid! He was devastated by what he _already_ did the first time! How do you think he's gonna feel after wakin' up this time?"_

"_What Hun did to Michelangelo, what he _made_ Michelangelo do, is __deplorable__, yes, and I'm not trying to discount that,"_ Donnie said calmly in the face of Raphael's ire. _"However, mental effects aside, it's not that bad. Imagine what Hun could do by controlling the police, the military or the right politician. Things could be infinitely worse for far more people as a whole."_

Suddenly, Leo caught sight of the slightest movement in the shadows around the building, and he leaned closer to the windscreen, peering out intently. "I want you two _out_ of there right _now!"_

"_But Leo,"_ Donnie protested. "_I've just found a..."_

"_Now_, Don!" Leo pulled himself to his feet, shuffling to the back of the van as quickly as he could to check the scanners Donnie had built in.

"_Aww, is liddle Leo all worried 'cause he's not here to hold our hands?"_ Raph mocked over the headset.

"I thought I saw movement in the shadows," Leo interrupted, ignoring Raphael's words. "Checking the scanners now." Leo frowned as the infrared imaging showed several figures positioning themselves around the old, worn warehouse. They stopped moving closer and instead repositioned as if bracing themselves, and Leo's blood ran cold.

"Get out of there _now! _They're about to fire!"

As Leo spoke, he rushed back to the front of the van to stare anxiously out the window once more, and as he said the word fire, he saw a number of flame blossoms flare dramatically into life where each shadowed figure stood in the darkness.

Too far away, all Leo could do was watch helplessly as rockets streaked forwards, smashing into the building and bursting with loud, fiery light.

-:-

Mikey swallowed, "Were you like us?"

"What do you mean by that?" Splinter canted his head, wondering if something was wrong.

For a moment, Mikey felt frustration, not quite sure how to phrase his question delicately enough to avoid upsetting Splinter again like he had in the kitchen earlier.

"Like my bros and I... We were normal, ordinary turtles. We were supposed to be just pets..." he explained, licking his lips. "Were you... just a normal rat to begin with?"

Splinter gazed at Michelangelo, bemused. "Of course. What else could I have been?"

"Human?" Mikey gaped back.

Splinter's ears twitched at Mikey's reply and in the immediate silence, Mikey felt as though maybe he should have kept his mouth shut after all.

"Your Master Splinter was originally human?" Splinter finally asked, processing what Michelangelo was suggesting.

Mikey nodded emphatically.

"Would it disappoint you to learn that I was not?"

"No!" Mikey shook his head wildly. "It's just really different and surprising, that's all! Sorry if I offended you again."

"You did not," Splinter chuckled softly. "Neither now nor earlier. I will admit though, that I am just as surprised as you Michelangelo, so do not worry. Now, let us sit and talk."

Mikey nodded and followed Splinter to flop under a tree with dappled sunlight shining brilliantly through the leaves.

"If your father was human and I was not, then you instinctively recognising that we are not the same person makes far more sense," Splinter observed once they were settled. "Do you mind telling me about him?"

Grinning eagerly, Mikey launched into the story, explaining of the loss and tragedy, the fresh start in New York and stories of his father as his brothers and he grew up. Splinter smiled fondly all the while, even chuckling in amusement at a couple of the shared anecdotes.

"And what was your father's human name?" Splinter asked when Mikey finished. "Or did he never share that knowledge with any of you?"

"Hamato Yoshi," Mikey replied, staring longingly towards the sunlit water close by the mansion. He could almost hear it calling him, inviting him. When Splinter didn't reply, Mikey turned his gaze back to the ninjutsu master, only to see him staring at him in a mixture of shock and nostalgic fondness.

Finally Splinter smiled, "Let me tell you about my Master now."

-:-

Leo stared numbly at the burning wreckage in front of him. As soon as he saw the rockets hit the building, he'd immediately grabbed his crutches and rushed across to the grounds the warehouse stood on, but the attackers were gone by the time he reached the burning remains. Leo desperately searched the perimeter for a way inside, a way to reach his remaining brothers, but the explosives had been aimed in through doorways and windows and there was no route left clear.

"I thought we agreed for you to stay in the van if you came," Donnie's voice coughed, rebuking Leo from behind.

Leo whirled around, stumbling a little as his bad ankle tried to give way. To his relief, both brothers were walking up to him, looking a little singed in the darkness but otherwise fine. Raph typically had his customary smirk in place.

"I thought I lost you both..." Leo trailed off before he could add 'too'.

"Yeah, well, thanks to your warnin', we got into the basement in time and then broke out into the sewers," Raph explained. "Glad you were watchin' our shells."

Running anxious eyes over the pair, Leo asked, "Are you both alright?"

"We're fine," Donnie assured him. "I don't think either of us inhaled enough smoke to be a problem, but I'll check us over to be sure back at the lair."

Leo nodded, his relief almost overwhelming him, "We'll head home now then, just to be safe." He began hobbling back over the potholed bitumen towards where they'd left the van when they first arrived.

"Hold on," Raph commanded. "You two wait here and I'll bring it over."

Donnie was about to agree, but paused, "No time," he said, listening to the approaching sirens. "Come on, we'll go together."

-:-

"No way!" Mikey shouted excitedly at the end of Splinter's tale. "Your master and mine are the same person? Get out, Sensei!"

At Splinter's amused confirmation, Mikey quickly gushed, "Well, not exactly the same because their lives were so different but they're still the same! Ugh! You know what I mean! _Right_?"

Splinter chuckled at the exuberance Michelangelo showed. "Indeed, I do."

"This is so _awesome_!" Mikey exclaimed. "You know what this means, right Sensei?"

"Maybe you should tell me," Splinter suggested, unsure of what could be going through Michelangelo's head.

"This means we _are_ actually family after all!" Mikey proclaimed brightly. "Uh... I mean from both ends. Uh... I mean... I can't really think of you as my father because you're not... but I do really like the idea of you being actual, real family."

"It is quite alright Michelangelo. I understand what you mean."

"This is so weird!" Mikey laughed excitedly. "I'm another version of your son but you're a brother I never had. We've got such a messed up family!"

"Indeed."

"Hey, what should I call you?" Mikey suddenly asked, sobering abruptly. He kept his eyes fixed on Splinter's expectantly.

Splinter's ears twitched. "I suggest you continue to call me sensei, as you have been doing all along."

Mikey beamed, "Hai Sensei!" All of a sudden he remembered their purpose for being in the Astral Plain in the first place. "Oh! Weren't we supposed to be having a lesson?"

Raising his furry eyebrows questioningly, Splinter replied, "I was under the impression that we have learned much this day."

"We have, but..." Mikey coloured, "wasn't it meant to be about Astral Plain stuff, not each other?"

"Learning about each other from within this environment aides in learning about the Astral Plain," Splinter pointed out calmly. "Even as we have talked and connected, you have been gazing around, taking in every possible thing, every feeling, every impression, that you can, correct?"

"Yes," Mikey admitted sheepishly, worried that maybe he shouldn't have been doing that due to how disrespectful it sounded when Splinter mentioned it. "But didn't you say this place is shaped by those within?"

"I did," Splinter confirmed with a smile, happy that Michelangelo had paid attention.

"Then how is me looking at what's here _now_ supposed to help, when it would change depending on who's in here?"

"That is a very good question and the answer is, because you have not merely been soaking in the visual view, my student," Splinter explained gently. "You have also been soaking in the feelings, the sensations, the general ambience of this realm, whether you realise it or not, and yes, that also changes according to the influence of those within. However, over time as you gain experience, you will begin to recognise the realm and that will enable you to work with it far more easily."

"So you always recognise the Astral Plain?" Mikey asked curiously, looking directly at the seated ninja master. "Even when it's shaped by others?"

For a moment Splinter paused as he thought about how to answer. "Eventually, yes. When I knowingly come here, always. However, there has been a couple of times when I have been brought within the astral without my knowledge or intention, by others that are extremely skilled. The consequences of those occasions were very nearly dire."

"What happened?"

"Our training saw us through," Splinter answered simply.

"So you weren't kidding when you said learning the Astral Plain was an essential skill then?"

"I was not."

Mikey looked away, thoughtful and when he met Splinter's gaze again, he stood and bowed deeply. "I'm know I'm a difficult student, Sensei, but please teach me what you can."

"Of course," Splinter said gently, pleased by Michelangelo's new found determination. "You have a good potential, Michelangelo, one that can only be brought out if you but try. Now come, let us return to our physical forms." Splinter effortlessly stood and looked expectantly at Michelangelo.

Full of worry at Splinter's words, Mikey blurted out, "But what about the lesson, Sensei?"

"This is quite enough for one night," Splinter chuckled. "When we return, you will be sure to find yourself quite exhausted as it is."

"Then we'll be coming back tomorrow night?"

"No," Splinter shook his head as he lead the way back to his pathway. "You will need a few days to recover before you will be ready to try again.

"However, take heart, Michelangelo. We will have plenty of time for more lessons before you return home."

-:-

"We're back!" Leo called quietly, as Donnie held the infirmary door open for him. There was no reply and Leo stopped dead as he saw no sign of life within either.

"Where are they?" Raph asked harshly, worried, as he stepped in behind Leo.

"Michelangelo must have woken up," Donnie suggested. "It's within the time range of the dosage wearing off."

"Even if he did, wasn't he supposed to stay here so we can keep an eye on him over the next couple of days?"

"It would certainly be easier that way, since Leo and I would be nearby most of the time," Donnie replied dryly.

"Oh, you're actually willing to allow me to help this time?" Leo asked, allowing a trace of amusement to enter his tone.

"As long as you keep off your feet, then yes."

The three brothers exited the infirmary again, to go search through the rest of the lair for Michelangelo and Splinter.

"You know what I hate the most about being injured?" Leo asked, almost casually as they walked.

"That you can't train and have to take it easy for once in your life?" Raph snorted derisively.

"That's the second thing."

"Then what's the first?"

"That our gentle Donatello here turns into a tyrant." Leonardo smirked, turning to head for the hallway instead of the kitchen as the other two did.

"I do _not_!" Donnie protested loudly.

"Sure ya do, bro," Raph snickered. It was the first time in a long time that he'd simply bantered with his brothers and it felt good. He realised then just how much he missed the simple things.

"If I do, it's only because you two stubborn shell heads won't stop to heal otherwise," Donnie muttered petulantly.

"Uh huh, methinks the doc should practise what he preaches," Raph deadpanned, thinking back to when his brother had initially been infected by the outbreak virus. "Hey, where ya goin' Leo? They probably went for food."

"Maybe," Leo admitted, glancing back towards the kitchen. "However, Master Splinter's meditation equipment was gone from the infirmary. I'm going to go check the dojo and the Zen room."

"That's true," Donnie realised thoughtfully, remembering back to the scene that greeted them inside the infirmary. "I'll come with you," he offered, unwilling for Leo to walk about on his own with his injuries.

Leo nodded but didn't bother to wait. It wasn't as though his brother couldn't easily catch up right now.

The two soon approached the dojo, but the soft sound of crashing waves drew their attention instead to the Zen room. Leo immediately made a beeline for the room, pushing aside the cloth curtain and peering within. He relaxed at the sight of the two mutants in deep mediation, serene looks on their faces, then stepped back mouthing silently to Donnie, "Let's go."

-:-

"I see you have returned, my sons. How did the mission go?" Splinter asked in concern as he entered the kitchen where his three sons were enjoying a late night snack.

"It was a bust, Sensei," Raph snorted in disgust.

"Do share."

"Before we do," Donnie piped up, anxiously. "Where's Michelangelo?"

"He is asleep in his room." Splinter sat down in the nearest empty chair. "He was exhausted after our session."

"It's no wonder, he's been through a lot in the last few days," Leo said softly.

"Indeed. It is lucky he is resilient; I am sure he will bounce back before too long."

"Exhausted and asleep or not, he shouldn't be alone right now. I'll take first watch while Leo and Raph fill you in, Master Splinter." Excusing himself, Donnie pushed away from the table and headed out the door.

After their story, such as it was, was told, Leo changed the subject. "How did you do it, Master Splinter?"

"Do what, my son?" Splinter asked, looking at Leonardo perplexed.

"How did you get Michelangelo to sit still long enough to meditate. After everything that's happened recently, I'm even more surprised you managed."

Splinter chuckled. "I tailored the session towards his own needs."

"How did it go?"

"It was very informative, Leonardo. We both learned much, some of which I will need to speak to Donatello about at some point," Splinter replied. "Tell me, my sons, were either of you aware that Michelangelo, in a rather strange way I might add, has a fourth brother?"

At the surprised looks on both Leonardo and Raphael's faces, Splinter chuckled once more and stood, grasping his walking stick in his hand. "Good night, my sons."

-:-

To be continued


	25. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall story, little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.

Thanks everyone for your comments and support. It means the world to me :-)

lizzybudd: By now you know the answer to your question if you checked out 'Aftermath' XD

Guest (from Jun 24): Yeah, Splinter's pretty awesome, and subtle XD

Guest (from June 25): Thank you :-) Haha! Wow! All in one day? Did you also check out the side fics for this story? Some of them shed more light on various things that have happened XD

DragonChild157: I hope this was soon enough :-P The next update for this universe will be in 'Tales From AOtGO', then 'Aftermath'. I'm going t try to alternate updates between the two main stories. I should be able to keep that up for a while as I have handwritten several chapters ahead. It's just the typing up of that I am lacking in *coughs*

Taisi: Thank you. That means a lot coming from you XD

Inuyashagirl7692: Good to hear! XD Yeah, it helps when they aren't trying to keep their distance from each other. Sadly, all it took was another almost tragedy for them to see *coughs*

2ndGenGeek, Wolfangel33, CelandineGranger, Cutegenius, Spacin' Jays: Thanks guys :-)

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch 24

Date : 12th Sept

Shifting in the now familiar bed as he awoke, Mikey blinked blearily into the dim light.

"Still can't get over how damn early you wake up..." a grumpy voice muttered from by the door.

Mikey turned his head in disbelief, making out Raph leaning tiredly against the wall. "It wasn't a dream?" he asked in confusion, struggling slightly to push himself into a seated position in the bed.

"What wasn't?"

"Noth... nothing," Mikey quickly answered, shaking his head wildly. " Hey, ah... why are you in here? I thought you hated coming in this room?"

"I do," Raph grunted, getting wearily to his feet. "Only been in here a couple a times since that night... The room looks almost untouched; could never tell you've been usin' it..." Raph's gaze drifted slowly to the unfinished mural on the wall and stopped as he stared sadly at it.

Mikey flushed, he'd made such an effort not to disturb anything that it almost killed him sometimes. "Well, I know you didn't want me in here using his stuff, so the only things I've really touched are the comics because it'd be a crime not to read them."

In shock, Raph whipped his head to face the younger turtle. "You haven't even looked through his stuff?"

Mikey shook his head, eyes fixed solidly on Raph.

"How the shell'd ya manage that without explodin'?" Raph asked in sheer disbelief.

Grinning sheepishly, Mikey admitted, "Wasn't easy, dude. The curiosity's almost killed me so many times, so except for getting a bunch of comics to read or when I'm sleeping, I mostly just stay out."

"No wonder you kept bein' underfoot..." Raph muttered, remembering how often the mere sight of the other-dimensional visitor had annoyed him.

"Eh heh..." Mikey chuckled nervously, "and that's why I explored _your_ room instead."

"What?" Raph snapped, his gaze darkening.

"Kidding, dude!" Mikey laughed. "Except for that time Sensei asked me to come get you, I've never even stopped at your door. Promise!"

After a moment of silence, Mikey then asked, "So why are you in here anyway?"

"Someone hadda take over from Don. If you stayed in the infirmary last night, Leo coulda taken a turn watchin' you too," Raph explained, watching as Mikey climbed out of bed and put his gear on.

"Oh yeah... right..." Mikey stared forlornly at his single remaining nunchaku, before leaving it on the bedside table.

"Not grabbin' that?" Raph asked, puzzled by Mikey's decision.

Mikey shook his head sadly. "Nuh, it's better if I leave it here until you guys can trust me again."

"You know Don doesn't really think it'll happen again, right?" Raph asked, worried about how the other turtle was taking what had happened. "We're only watchin' you just in case."

Mikey nodded, but made no move towards his precious weapon.

"Come on, then." Raph suppressed a sigh and opened the bedroom door. "I'm hungry and you're cookin'."

"Okay!" Mikey instantly agreed, sounding brighter than he really felt. He followed Raph out the room.

"Just no makin' any of that weird shit!"

"Weird shit...?" Mikey gasped as if the thought was unheard of. "But my jalapeno pizza pancakes are to die for!"

"Yeah, probably literally," Raph grumbled.

Mikey just laughed as he trotted beside Raph.

-:-

Raph sat quietly at the table, watching tiredly as Michelangelo finished mixing the ingredients for an extra large batch of pancakes. He sighed as he came to a decision, then suddenly spoke, "You can use his stuff, Mikey."

Mikey dropped the frypan he'd just picked up and it fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

"What?"

"He wouldn't want it just sittin' there gatherin' dust, not when someone else could be gettin' enjoyment out of it," Raph continued, staring down uncomfortably where the dropped pan lay. "Just... don't break or wreck anythin', that's all."

Mikey nodded, eyes bulging. "Are you really sure, dude?" he asked, his voice betraying his shock as he crouched down to pick up the fallen frypan.

"Yeah," Raph replied confidently. He straightened in his seat, feeling better for having made the offer.

"Okay, thanks!" Mikey smiled brightly at Raph. Turning around, he tossed a gob of butter in the pan and placed it on the stove. Once the butter had melted and spread evenly over the frying pan, Mikey poured in enough batter for the first pancake. Then he grabbed and prepped another pan.

"Hey, you do know Donnie stopped my T-phone from working properly, right?" Mikey suddenly asked, turning his shell on the stove to face Raph again.

"Yeah, of course."

"And there's no other phones or anything like that in the room, right?"

Raph nodded. "What are you gettin' at?"

"You coulda just waited outside and watched the door. It would've been easier on you."

"Yeah, I coulda and you're right, it probably woulda been," Raph admitted, "but you needed me where I was."

Mikey stepped a little closer to Raph, canting his head curiously.

"I get the weirdest feelin' that you don't much like bein' alone," Raph shrugged. 'And you've been far too alone for far too long now,' he thought to himself, mentally wincing over the part he'd played in that.

"Yeah, I don't much," Mikey grudgingly admitted. "I..." Suddenly a burning smell wafted by, reminding him of what he was meant to be doing. With a cry of dismay, Mikey whirled around to see the first pancake was already beyond saving. He scrapped the charred food into the nearby bin and cleaned up the frying pan before starting again.

-:-

"Hey Raph? I'm sorry," Mikey suddenly spoke as he took yet another pancake off the stove.

"For what?" Raph grunted tiredly, stretching lightly to keep awake as he looked up at the younger turtle.

"For attacking you after you were being so nice yesterday. I..."

"It's fine, brat," Raph interrupted, shrugging dismissively. "Wasn't your fault."

"I gave you a black eye!"

"Do I look like I care?" Raph countered.

"But your mask doesn't even cover it!" Mikey protested.

"Look!" Raph barked, cutting Mikey short irritably. "Leo doesn't blame you for a couple a days ago and I sure as shell don't blame you for yesterday. 'sides, ya hit like a girl!"

"Karai hits hard," Mikey pointed out reproachfully.

Raph's face twisted angrily at the name and the bad memories it conjured. "That twisted bitch is not a _girl_, she's a woman _and_ the adopted daughter of a mass murderin', alien psychopath!"

"She's about our age in my world," Mikey shrugged before adding, "Then there's April. She hits hard too!"

"Fine!" Raph growled. "Ya hit like a four year old girl!"

Mikey laughed and Raph was pleased to hear it, "You know, my Leo was beaten by a six or seven year old girl only a few weeks ago."

-:-

"So I hear ya got another brother?" Raph suddenly asked as, with a flourish, Mikey set down a large stack of thick, fluffy pancakes on the table in front of him.

"Huh?"

"A fourth brother? One that we don't have?" Raph prompted as he drowned his pancakes in syrup and took a huge bite, relishing the delicious taste.

Mikey shook his head in confusion as he sat opposite, with his own plate of food. "No, but I have a sister. She died in a fire before we were hatched though," he admitted sadly.

"A sister? Then why did Master Splinter say you had an extra brother?" Raph stared across the table at the younger turtle curiously.

Mikey stuffed his face with a huge mouthful of food and stared, chewing thoughtfully as he tried to think. "Oh yeah!" he mumbled before swallowing. Then he laughed. "Splinter Sensei! His master and mine were the same person so that makes him my oldest brother in a messed up, weird, interdimensional way!" Answer given, Mikey shovelled another mouthful of pancake into his mouth hungrily.

"Whaddaya mean by that?"

"My Master Splinter was Hamato Yoshi before he was mutated. He came to New York after his adopted brother, The Shredder, murdered his wife and daughter."

-:-

Raph and Mikey had just finished eating when Leo hobbled into the kitchen on his crutches.

"Something smells good," Leo observed, sniffing the air appreciably.

Mikey's eyes flicked worriedly up at Leonardo but his cheerful tone belied any concern otherwise. "Pancakes. Want some, dude? I made more than enough batter for everyone."

"For all of us three times over," Raph added dryly.

Mikey tossed Raph a grin, "If you're going to make breakfast, may as well make enough to feed a three-ring circus, dude."

"You're the only three-ring circus around here, brat," Raph retorted rudely, but a faint smile could be seen at the edges of his mouth.

Mikey laughed, "If I'm the three-ring circus, then that makes you the side show."

Leo just shook his head in disbelief and sat down. He wondered exactly when those two started getting along but thought it best not to ask in case it made Raph erect his walls once more. "If you're sure there's enough," he interrupted, before their conversation could degenerate any further.

"There's plenty!" Mikey beamed, rushing over to the fridge and pulling out a huge bowl filled with batter. Leo's eyes boggled at the sight.

"Uh... there's nothing... uh... weird about that mixture... is there?" he asked in trepidation. It hadn't taken them long to learn that while Michelangelo loved to cook, his enthusiasm for strange and exotic combinations was something to be wary of.

"There definitely is," Raph deadpanned.

Mikey snorted and waved a hand, "Pshaw! Only thing weird about it is that Raph didn't faint in rapture from the divine taste sensation that is my cooking!" he declared loudly, before quickly preparing another pan.

Leo glanced at Raph and saw the amused smirk creeping onto his face. "Fine, I'd love some then," he finally acquiesced, even as Michelangelo was already pouring in the batter.

For the next few minutes, uncomfortable silence prevailed in the kitchen, until Mikey presented Leo with a pile of golden pancakes. Leo immediately reached for the maple syrup, only to be stopped by Mikey's hand on his.

"There's already syrup on them, Leo," he said quietly. "Maybe you should look and see if it's enough before you add more." Then he flopped into the seat beside Leo, watching anxiously as Leonardo looked down at his breakfast.

Leo started in surprise as he saw two words, finely written in slowly spreading syrup, staring back up at him. Finally he turned to meet Michelangelo's apprehensive blue eyes and sighed. "There's nothing to be sorry about, Michelangelo. Everything that happened is my fault anyway, not yours."

"Annnd here we go..." Raph muttered, rolling his eyes in exasperation; it had taken him a while to get Mikey to relax this morning and now Leo waltzing in had ruined it. "Self Guilt Trip meets the Guilt Ridden."

"I know you're the leader Leo, but that doesn't make it your fault," Mikey insisted. "If I was paying more attention, none of this would have happened and I wouldn't have nearly killed you... or later hurt anyone else..."

"It's not about being leader, Michelangelo," Leo sighed again. "It's because _I_ didn't trust you enough to let you help. If I hadn't been so busy trying to keep you out of the fight with Hun, maybe I would have noticed the miscreant I put down get back up again."

"Key word, Fearless, _maybe_," Raph interrupted, though neither of the other two turtles in the kitchen paid him more than a glance. "It's not the fault of _anyone_ here, only Hun's!"

"And even if that was not the case, you would have been in close enough to Hun, and been constantly moving, so that Dragon never would have gotten to you so easily," Leo continued, as if Raph hadn't spoken.

"I guess..." Mikey muttered, "but if I'd been a better ninja..."

"Okay, you can stop _right _there, Michelangelo," Leo commanded sharply. "From what I saw, you are a perfectly capable ninja with some exceptional skills. Yes, you are behind compared with us, but that is mostly due to our age difference and your lack of cross training. While we worked through that building, you did very well. Your main problem that I can see is the lack of focus you display during training."

"You really think so?" Mikey asked, hope creeping into his voice. That was more than he ever heard from his own brothers before.

Leo smiled gently, "I know so."

"Thanks Leo," Mikey smiled in relief. "But it's still not your fault either, you know!"

Leo merely nodded sharply and began to eat.

-:-

"Since you're here and awake Leo, you can stay with the brat. I'm goin' to bed for a couple hours sleep before trainin' starts," Raph said. As he went to stand, he heard a sound from the doorway and looked up. "Man Donnie-boy, you look like shit!"

"Thanks Raphie," Donnie replied dryly, unknowingly catching Mikey's interest. "I love you too."

"Did you get _any_ sleep last night, Don?" Leo asked worriedly, as he took in Donnie's haggard appearance.

"A little..." Donnie admitted.

"We still got a couple a hours before trainin', go back to bed, Donnie."

"I'd rather not," Donnie instantly dismissed, moving unsteadily across the room to the coffee pot to set it brewing.

Raph stared at Donnie, silently asking if it had been more nightmares and Donnie eventually sighed and nodded, answering the unspoken question just as quietly. Then Donnie finished making his coffee and very deliberately sat at the table, ignoring the concerned looks around him.

-:-

Mikey peeked cautiously into Donnie's lab from the doorway, seeing he was still wide awake and working. He nodded back to Leo, who sat watching from the couch, and entered the room.

"Hey D!" he called cheerfully as he walked over.

Donatello jumped, before swivelling around from his computer to stare reproachfully at the intruder. "I really do wish you wouldn't call me that, Michelangelo."

Mikey stopped dead, halfway from the door to Donnie. "How come?" he asked in confusion.

"Because my name is Donatello and I already have two perfectly suitable nicknames, either of which you may choose from. 'D' sounds as though you are either simply too lazy or uncaring enough to bother giving me the respect of using my name."

Mikey fidgeted apologetically. "I'm sorry, Donnie. You should have said something sooner and I would have stopped. It's just my Donnie doesn't seem to mind." Then Mikey paused thoughtfully before continuing. "Although... maybe he doesn't mind 'cause it was April that first started calling him that."

Donnie canted his head at Mikey, curiosity overwhelming him. "Why should that make any difference?"

Grinning mischievously, Mikey singsonged, "Because D's got a huge crush on Aaapril!"

Donnie smiled softly, remembering the way his counterpart looked in the photo where April's arm was slung around him, and chuckled, "That would make sense then. I suppose it started through texting?"

"No..." Mikey stared incredulously. "It was love at first sight. When we saw her on our first night topside, he was all like 'Sigh... isn't she perfect? I must _save_ her!" he mimicked falsetto, before laughing.

"It's really funny to watch sometimes, how Donnie blurts out inappropriate comments or stutters around her and April pretends to be all oblivious."

Donnie's smile turned tight, not sure if he entirely liked what he was hearing about his counterpart, but luckily, Mikey was quick to catch on.

"Don't worry, dude! It's not _bad_ inappropriate, just embarrassing inappropriate and besides, they're best friends anyway!" he immediately assured.

Donnie nodded sharply. "Why did you come in here, Michelangelo? I thought Leo was meant to be watching you right now?"

"Yeah... Don't worry about Leo, bruh, he knows I came in here," Mikey said, looking all about the room, anywhere but at Donnie himself. "I've already said sorry about the stuff I did to Raph and Leo, but I wanted to say it to you too..."

Donnie sighed and stood. He walked over to look Michelangelo directly in the eyes. "Michelangelo, you don't need to apologise, because it wasn't _your_ fault."

Mikey nodded. "I know," he admitted quietly, "but I still feel bad about nearly killing Leo and attacking you and Raph... and almost giving that Himbo a way to find your home..."

Donnie reached up and rubbed the bridge of his beak tiredly. "It's fine. There was no permanent harm done and Leo_ will_ be as good as new. Provided he actually does as I say for once and takes it easy over the next couple of weeks."

Mikey nodded and swallowed nervously, dreading the answer to his next question. "What about Casey? I kicked him pretty hard..."

"Yes, that was rather a low blow," Donnie admitted. "However, I've heard from April and she said he is also fine."

"So he can still have kids then?" Mikey asked hopefully, blue eyes wide.

Donnie choked for a moment before laughing. "Yes, _every_thing is fine, Michelangelo."

"Good!" Mikey smiled, thoroughly relieved to hear the news. "Hey, Donnie?" he suddenly asked as Donnie turned to head back to his computer.

"Yes?" Donnie stopped, looking back.

"Are you having nightmares or something?"

Donnie stiffened and Mikey knew he was right. "Why on Earth would you believe that?"

Mikey fiddled with his empty nunchaku holster, missing the comforting weight and feel of his beloved weapons. "Because you don't sleep well, dude... You know, it's okay to admit if you're having trouble."

"I know," Donnie replied stiffly. He continued back to his chair, hoping that Michelangelo would somehow get the hint that he'd rather be left alone.

"You don't have to talk to me, Donnie," Mikey suddenly added softly, "but you should talk to someone or it'll only get worse and eat away at you. Trust me, I know."

"Well, you don't need to worry, Michelangelo, as there's absolutely nothing to talk about," Donnie insisted quickly.

Mikey gave a short, disbelieving laugh, knowing better, "Okay, if you say so, dude."

"I do. Now, if you don't mind, I have a lot of work to do."

Summarily dismissed, Mikey nodded and turned back for the door. While he wished things had gone a little differently, he was at least satisfied that he'd said what he needed to, but then, he stopped abruptly, staring in shock.

Suddenly aware that Michelangelo was still in the room and no longer moving, Donatello frowned and turned to see if the younger turtle was still himself. That's when he followed his gaze and understood. Donnie stood once more and quickly walked over, stopping beside him.

"I'm sorry, but it's far too damaged for me to repair it. The best I can do is make you a new skateboard using the wheels from the old one."

"It's okay, I don't want it any more anyway," Mikey muttered, still staring. "I hurt Leo so badly with it..."

Donnie tentatively reached out a hand to Mikey's shoulder, then turned him away from the wrecked board to look him in the eyes again. "I thought you said you understood that none of what happened was your fault?"

"I do... but that doesn't stop me feeling bad about it..." Mikey whimpered softly. "Why'd you even bother bringing it back, dude? Leo was _hurt _and _far_ more important!"

Donnie sighed; Raph had demanded to know the same thing at the time. "Because it's covered in both Leo's DNA and your own, and that was a crime scene."

Mikey blinked at Donnie in confusion.

"The police would have taken your skateboard as evidence and run the DNA in the hopes of a match," Donnie supplied gently.

"It's not like they could match it to me though," Mikey protested, still not understanding.

Donatello nodded and drew Michelangelo away, steering him to sit in a spare chair nearby his computer. "Yes, that's very true. However, the forensics would have realised the DNA collected was _not_ human and that would have sent red flags into certain branches of the government; to organisations that unfortunately already know of our existence. Your DNA may not be specifically known to them, but they still would have recognised it as mutated turtle DNA and that would... pique a certain person's interest. He would likely renew his search for us, believing it would lead to you, and _none _of us needs that kind of attention."

"So we just stay out of sight, they wouldn't find us," Mikey pointed out in a small voice.

"Maybe, maybe not. The resources at his disposal are almost limitless and he is beyond determined and capable of almost anything," Donnie explained. "That man could give the Shredder a run for his money."

Mikey felt a chill run down his shell. "You sound like you've had a bad experience with this guy. Who are you even talking about anyway?"

Donnie released the physical contact he'd kept with Mikey, moving to sit down in his own chair at the computer. For the next few seconds, his fingers flew across the keyboard, finally bringing up an image on the computer screen of a harsh looking, humourless human with a deep widow's peak and sunglasses. "Agent Bishop," Donnie finally answered. "He's had us, Master Splinter, and even Leatherhead at his mercy at various times before. If you _ever_ see him, steer clear of him at _all costs_."

"Leatherhead?" Mikey perked up slightly at the name of his long lost friend, a wistful look filling his eyes, but he shook his head wildly, trying to focus on what they were talking about now. "So what did this Bishop dude do?" he asked in trepidation.

"Experimentation mostly. We were extremely lucky to get out in one piece, and it took all eight of us to drive him off. At that point, he blew up his own base to stop us learning more about him and his organisation, and that was only our _first_ encounter. Trust me, Michelangelo, you do not want him knowing about your existence in this world, and that is why I brought your skateboard back with us."

Mikey nodded. "Uh... is there any chance he might have thought I was your Mikey? Without having seen me, I mean."

Donnie's expression closed off again. "No," he said stiffly. "Your DNA is too different for one thing and for another, he would know Mikey is... gone..."

"Was... this dude responsible for what happened?" Mikey asked fearfully.

"No, he wasn't. However, due to Mikey's friendship with certain members of the Justice Force, we were helping them with a mission when... it happened." Donnie clenched his hands tightly together, the blood draining quickly. "Though they never revealed Mikey's true identity as a mutant turtle... they did hold a public memorial for him..."

-:-

to be continued.

* * *

Don't forget to check out 'Tales From AOtGO' (various short stories and drabbles) and 'Aftermath' (the new ongoing 2k12 side of the story) if you want to read the other stories in this series.


	26. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall story, little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Summary: Lost and alone in another reality, one turtle must try to find his way home. All while trying to forge a place amongst a family who lost one of their own under horrible circumstances and seemingly resents his very presence. No OC's. Set: 2k3 up until 'Good Genes'. 2k12 up until 'The Good, the Bad and Casey Jones'.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

A/N: So this story was recently nominated for 'Best Tragedy' in the TMNT Mature Fanfic Awards and it came in second place. The certificate is beautiful and can be seen on my DA profile. Thank you to everyone who voted for this :-)

Honestly, I was surprised to even have anything nominated for that competition in the first place, (3 of my stories were nominated in 4 categories, thank you!) as I didn't think any of them were even suitable for the Mature fic competition XD

For those who haven't realised it yet, I have finally started writing the 2k12 side of this story (AOtGO - Aftermath) and will be doing my best to alternate updates for both this story and that one. Also, a couple of people in the past expressed a desire to have 2k12 Mikey meet 2k3 Leatherhead. Your wish has been granted. It's a 2-parter published within 'Tales from AOtGO' called 'Besties' and set not long after 'Far From Home'. Greys-Giovana over on Deviant Art drew two wonderful art pieces for that, one for each chapter. The second image gives me chills just looking at it XD

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, faved or followed this story. You really make my day!

jgrasper22 - This story and 'Aftermath' are separate stories, yet connected. You don't have to read both to understand the other, it's merely that this story focuses on the 2k3 side of the story and 'Aftermath' on the 2k12.

Cutegenius - It's not that Raph wasn't interested in hearing how Leo was felled by a little girl, it's more that I was only showing snippets of their conversation. Most of us already know what happened from watching the episode 'Slash and Destroy', and I'm not a fan of rehashing too much what we've seen, so that conversation was held between the scenes.

TheRedScreech - Sorry, but Raph's spluttering happened between scenes XD As for Mikey working out the voice in 'Far From Home', well, who knows. Something may come from that one day but if so, that's a story for another time *winks*

DragonChild157 - Hehe, yes, we'll have to wait and see what Mikey dredges up from within that room now he has Raph's permission XD 2k3 family, beware!

ShadyFool, Kneazle-Chan, TheMaskedTimelord, Bookworm1978, Rhodesincolumbus, Guests - Thank you :-)

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch 25

Date : 12th Sept

"Was... this dude responsible for what happened to your bro?" Mikey asked fearfully.

"No, he wasn't. However, due to Mikey's friendship with certain members of the Justice Force, we were co-operating on a mission when... it happened." Donnie clenched his hands tightly together, the blood draining quickly and his knuckles paling. "Though they never revealed Mikey's true identity as a mutant turtle... they did hold a public memorial for him..."

"So that's how Himbo knew?" Mikey gasped in surprise.

"Himbo?" Donnie questioned. He'd heard Mikey refer to Hun like that before but wasn't quite sure why he did.

"Hun... he's got long, blond hair and he's not that bright, but since he's a guy, not a girl, it's Himbo," Mikey explained with a shrug and a proud grin.

Donnie cracked a small, sad smile. "Fitting. Yes, he would know us well enough to have seen through my brother's costumed identity easily enough."

At that moment, Mikey wanted so badly to reach over and comfort Donnie the way genius had tried to do for him not long ago, but he knew from past experience it was better that he didn't, and it killed him to know he couldn't help. "I'm really sorry, Don..." he murmured quietly, knowing those words wouldn't cut it, yet not knowing what else to say.

Donatello shook his head and turned back to his computer, closing off the rare photo on the monitor. He gave a tight nod. "We made so much fun at his expense for his 'Secret Identity', but it's comforting to know that because of it, so many people thought of him as a hero and actually cared about what happened to him." Then in a voice so low Mikey could barely make out the next words, Donnie added bitterly, "Though they never would have had they known what he really was..."

-:-

Leo looked up as Michelangelo quietly exited the lab. "You were a lot longer than you thought you'd be. Was Don actually willing to talk?"

Mikey made his way over and sat in the chair near Leo's. "Yeah," he nodded. "Nothing in depth but he did tell me a lot."

Leo was relieved to hear it, "That's good to know." Then he noticed how quiet and still the other-dimensional turtle seemed, "Are you alright, Michelangelo?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, dude, just really tired," Mikey admitted reluctantly. That and some of what he'd just learned had been a lot for him to take in. "I don't get it! I should have energy to burn, especially after so much... uh... sleep the last two days." Mikey coloured, as he remembered the reason for all that enforced sleep.

"Master Splinter mentioned your first astral training session," Leo offered by way of explanation. "He was quite impressed, you know."

Mikey looked away from Leo to stare at the television monolith. "We didn't do much..."

"For your first time, especially without your meditation skills being very strong, you did a lot, Michelangelo," Leo gently assured the younger turtle. "You picked up on things none of the rest of us ever have so it's no wonder you're so tired. It really does take a lot of mental energy to use the Astral Plain, especially when you aren't used to it."

"I guess..." Mikey agreed, unable to prevent himself from yawning and not bothering to even try to cover it.

Leo moved immediately, swinging his legs off the couch, "Would you like to trade places so you can nap a while?"

Whipping his head to face Leo in alarm, Mikey exclaimed, "No way, dude! You _need_ the couch!" he protested, shaking his head vigorously.

Chuckling slightly, Leo said, "I can prop my leg up on the coffee table from the armchair just as easily."

"Nuh, stay there," Mikey insisted. In a flash, he was out of his seat and on the ground, laying plastron down. "I'll just nap like this, I did it lots when I was younger," he added, smiling brightly up at Leo.

"Okay," Leo replied dubiously, watching Michelangelo settle into a supposedly comfortable position with his head cradled in his crossed arms. Then he heard a sigh and so quiet he wasn't sure if he was hearing things...

"Sorry you have to watch me when I know there's other things you'd rather be doing instead..."

-:-

Mikey shifted uncomfortably, finding his face laying in a wet patch on his arm.

"You always drool so much when you sleep?" A rough voice asked in disgusted amusement from somewhere behind him.

Mikey wearily pushed himself up to a seated position and turned to see Raph sitting where Leo previously was. "Only when I'm dreaming of jalapeno, anchovy and jelly bean pizza," Mikey quipped with a grin as the look of disgust deepened. "It's sooo good, dude! Think we can get April to pick up the ingredients for me to make some?"

"Not a chance in shell, brat!" Raph immediately retorted. "Since you're awake now, get up and get ready."

Mikey bounced lightly to his feet, looking curiously at Raph. "Ready for what, bruh?"

"Just get cleaned up and grab your gear," he grunted, refusing to answer.

For one brief moment, Mikey felt the terror that Raph was going to make good on previous threats at last and kick him out because everyone had finally had enough of him, but then he saw the amused, slightly fond look in Raph's eyes and relaxed again. "I told you this morning Raph, until Donnie says I'm clear, I'm not packing."

Rolling his eyes, Raph retorted, "And I told you that it's not gonna happen again. Besides, I can handle a brat like you _any_ time with my eyes closed _and_ my hands tied behind my back."

Mikey grinned cheekily and leaned towards Raph as if mocking, "I'd believe half of that."

"And the other half?" Raph asked, his tone disbelieving.

"If we both had our eyes closed, I'd kick your shell but good, dude!"

Raph snorted derisively and pushed Mikey towards the bathroom. "I'd like to see you try!"

"As would I," Splinter suddenly spoke from the doorway across the room.

"You really wanna see him embarrass himself that badly, Master Splinter?" Raph asked, looking Splinter's way in surprise.

Splinter chuckled, "From what Leonardo told me of an incident a couple of weeks ago, I am most curious as to whom would actually embarrass whom."

"What happened a couple of weeks ago?" Raph asked, turning to Mikey who only shrugged in confusion.

Splinter gave a polite nod and continued walking through the room towards the kitchen. "Have fun you two, but stay alert."

Mikey looked up at Raph, "What's he mean?"

"Just get ready and you'll find out."

-:-

Refreshed at last, Mikey returned a few minutes later to find Raph waiting impatiently by the door, fingers of one hand tapping staccato on the door frame. As Mikey made his way over, Raph turned and stepped through, calling over his shoulder irritably.

"Took ya long enough!"

"When a turtle's gotta go, he's gotta go, dude."

"Yeah, and I don't need to know."

Mikey grinned and ran to catch up, finding Raph leading them into the garage. A moment later, Raph stopped by a tucked away corner and motioned Mikey to it.

"I know your board's wrecked, so choose something else," he commanded, reaching out and grabbing his roller blades. "These are mine though and your feet won't fit 'em anyway."

Mikey stared into the corner, seeing another skateboard, smaller than his own, a scooter with a blue handle, and a purple BMX bike.

"The scooter's Leo's and the bike's Don's, but they won't mind if you wanna use 'em."

"I've never ridden a bike or scooter before," Mikey said softly. "You're sure they won't mind?"

Raph shrugged. "They're sittin' here gatherin' dust anyway. May as well make use of 'em."

Mikey gazed down at the orange skateboard, an ache in his chest as yet again, he remembered the nightmarish fight three nights ago, and reached out for the bike handles instead. "Do you know how to ride this?"

"Yeah."

"Is it hard?"

"Nuh," Raph laughed. "It's as easy as fallin' off a bike."

"Bad choice of words, dude," Mikey said solemnly.

For a moment, the two other-dimensional brothers looked at each other and then both laughed. "Bike it is," Mikey exclaimed cheerfully as his laughter began to subside. "You can teach me!"

Raph attached his blades to his belt at the back of his shell and went to the door leading into the sewers.

"So where are we going anyway, Raph?" Mikey asked, curiosity fighting his trepidation. "I... I'm not supposed to leave the lair or anyone's sight right now."

"Relax already," Raph snorted derisively. "I can just as easily watch you out there as I can in here."

"Does Leo know?"

"Don't be ridiculous. If Fearless knew he'd never let you leave!"

Mikey froze, uncertainty tearing at him. His confidence in himself, already lower than he liked to let on to anyone ever, had taken a massive nosedive in the last few days and he didn't know what he should do.

"Don't you want to get out and have some fun?" Raph suddenly asked, eyes intent on Mikey. "Or would ya rather stay cooped up here, sittin' and starin' at the walls?"

Mikey gripped tighter at the handlebars, staring longingly at the door.

"Look, Master Splinter knows and he's fine with it," Raph added, fighting back a sigh. "You heard him tell us to have fun."

That convinced him and Mikey flicked his eyes up to meet Raph's, suddenly wondering if they were as bright a green behind that mask with its blank eyes as his own brother's, and he smiled, decision made.

-:-

Fifteen minutes later as they raced through the sewers, Raph suddenly slowed and Mikey shot past him by several metres before stopping and turning back perplexed. There didn't seem to be anything in sight other than walls, pipes and shadows. Mikey was about to question Raph when the older turtle jumped across the stream of filthy water and slipped into one of the deep shadows. Moments later, Mikey followed.

Peering intently into the gloom, yet unable to make anything out, Mikey heard Raph moving behind him, so still holding onto the handlebars of his borrowed bike, Mikey turned around again. Seconds later, the noises stopped and lights flickered on behind him.

Raph grunted, nodding towards the closed door. "So no one sees the light and decides to look closer."

"Oh cool!" Mikey was in awe, even as he wondered just why it mattered. After all, while growing up, he and his brothers had had the run of the sewers yet never bothered with such concerns.

Raph stalked past, pushing him aside, but Mikey recognised none of the usual roughness that would have been there only a few days ago and turned after him, only to stop and blink at the sight of a large, bowl shaped, yet dry drainage area.

"Not long after we moved where we live now, Mikey and I were scoutin' the area and found this place," Raph explained, his tone tight. "We figured it'd be a pretty good spot for hangin' out with our wheels if we ever got the time. Once things settled down, I got Don to help me set it up with better lightin', the hidden door and a new grate to cover the hole in the middle. The original was too badly rusted. Also makes a good bolt hole in case we run into trouble but can't make it home."

"Did you ever use it?" Mikey asked curiously, taking a step further in.

"Coupla times," Raph shrugged. "We were gonna do more to the place, like our old, underground skate park we had years ago, but never got the chance."

"Do more like what?"

"Jumps and stuff."

Mikey grinned, he could definitely see the potential of the place. He noticed a small room above with an overlooking window and Raph caught him looking towards it.

"Old control station from when this place was still in use before they built better, automated ones. It's been mostly gutted but we set up some supplies and stuff there in case of emergencies."

"Cool!"

Raph reached behind his shell for his rollerblades and put them on as Mikey continued to gaze around, taking in the mostly austere area. One wall though, had the beginnings of a painting on it and he recognised the style as similar to that in his own borrowed room.

"Doesn't it make you uncomfortable being here?" he suddenly asked without thinking.

Raph turned to look at Mikey sharply, seeing where his gaze was directed. He shrugged. "There's other places that're worse," he admitted.

"Like my room," Mikey observed quietly. "Whenever you have to come near the door, you always walk as close to the other wall as you can."

Raph stared in shock. He'd never noticed, but now that it was pointed out to him, he realised the brat was right. "Yeah, but this place was meant for _all_ of us, to relax and have fun in."

"Even Leo?" Mikey asked in disbelief.

Raph barked a harsh laugh. "Yeah, _if_ we could ever get him to pull that stick out of his arse long enough."

Mikey laughed too, "Yeah, he's pretty intense. _Way_ more intense than _my_ Leo."

Raph gave Mikey an incredulous look. He knew Mikey and his brothers were several years younger, and that would account for some of the difference, but his own Leo had been intense even before they hit their teens. As a result, it was hard for him to imagine a Leo that wasn't.

"How about I give you that ridin' lesson and then you can tell me about your family while we ride."

Mikey grinned, excited and happy to realise Raph was actually interested.

-:-

"Seriously? Your Leo's a damn Trekkie?" Raph laughed. He tried to imagine his own brother as one and failed miserably.

"Nooo... Not a Trekkie, we don't have that back home, he's a Spacenick! They're kinda similar but there's big differences between the shows," Mikey snickered, wobbling slightly as he rode his borrowed push bike. He'd managed to get the hang of riding it pretty quickly, but every so often his concentration lapsed and he had to fight to keep control.

"Don and Mikey, they were Trekkies, though Don hasn't watched an episode since..." Raph trailed off before he could mention that horrible day. "Neither Leo or I were ever interested in it though. Shell! It's hard enough gettin' Leo interested enough to watch _anythin_' other than the news! Guy never lets up! The only time we ever watched any was if one of those two chose one of the movies for movie night and that was usually Mikey to torture us, if he wasn't pickin' B grade crap instead."

"Movie night?" Mikey perked up, excited at the thought. He wondered if he could talk them into having some movie nights while he was around. "You dudes have so many movies in this dimension I've never heard of before. Games and comics too!"

Raph glanced over at Mikey as he skated, impressed, but not overly surprised, at how he was handling the BMX so quickly. "Maybe when you finally get to go home, Don can give you a hard drive with a buncha stuff loaded."

"That'd be pretty cool," Mikey admitted, a smile playing his face. "Then I can show my bros too. It'd be like a cultural exchange or something."

"Except only one way."

"Yeah..."

Raph saw Mikey's eyes slide over to him as he spoke, causing him to lose control and the bike to wobble badly once more.

"Watch what you're doin'!" Raph reminded him sharply as Mikey nearly crashed into him.

"Oops!" Mikey fought to get the wheels back under control again, grinning as he quickly recovered. "Heh, sorry! You know though, this is actually pretty easy."

Raph nodded wordlessly. He preferred his rollerblades for that very reason. That and the streamlined speed and manoeuvrability he could get with them; it was the only way he'd had a chance of truly competing with his skateboarding brother over the years.

"Too easy," Mikey continued in a sly voice that would have raised the hair on Raph's neck had he any. "I'm gonna try something!"

And before Raph could voice protest of any kind, Mikey was off his seat, standing and pedalling for all he was worth.

"So to do a flip, all I've got to do is jerk back on the bars, right?" Mikey called over his shoulder.

-:-

"_...ease! I know you can hear me! Donnie! Leo! Raph! Anybody, please!"_

Donnie shot up with a gasp, shaking and sweating. "It was just a dream," he kept whispering to himself, over and over once he gained enough breath back, "just a dream..."

As he sat there panting and trying to calm down, he realised he couldn't remember what actually happened in it, only that it had been one of the worst ones ever, full of desperate terror, screams and somebody sounding suspiciously like his dead brother calling frantically for him.

He couldn't take this any longer... the dreams, while they had settled for a while, had returned in the last couple of days with a vengeance. Maybe both Raph and Michelangelo were right after all; he needed to talk to someone, and more so, he needed to get a good night's sleep. Donnie glanced anxiously over at the clock on the wall above his computer, and as it was still relatively early, made up his mind to seek out Splinter.

-:-

"_Damned little idiot_!" Raph swore, putting on the speed to get to Mikey. He slammed his skates side on, skidding to an abrupt halt by the unmoving turtle and hauled the bike off him, throwing it carelessly to the side. Raph immediately dropped down to his knees beside the younger turtle.

"Kid! You okay?" Raph asked anxiously, reaching out to grab Mikey's wrist. "_Mikey_! Answer me _dammit_!"

Mikey moaned painfully. "Ow... What hit me...?"

"The ground and the damn bike ya little twerp!" Raph growled, relieved to hear the younger turtle speak. Mikey went to sit up but Raph planted a hand on his upper plastron, making sure to avoid the large dark purple bruise which was only just beginning to yellow at the edges after three days. "Don't try to get up yet. How do you feel?"

"Like I was run over by Slash..." Mikey groaned, blinking up at Raph blearily. "I'm okay, just a bit sore. Really, I promise!" he repeated, seeing the concern written on the hot head's face.

Raph just gave him a dirty look and checked to make sure nothing was broken before letting him sit up at last. "_What_ the _shell_ were you thinkin'?" he snapped angrily.

"That I wanted to do a trick?" Mikey questioned.

"You only _just_ learned to damn ride!" Raph exploded furiously. "You coulda gotten yourself killed pullin' a stupid stunt like that!"

Mikey's first instinct was to ask, 'Would anyone here have even cared?' but he saw the look on Raph's face, recognised the tone of his voice, and was both chilled and warmed all at once by the realisation that at least one turtle truly would have. "I'm really sorry, Raph..." he muttered.

And he was.

He didn't mean to scare the other turtle like that. In fact, it amazed him how Raph could go from seemingly hating him to actually caring what happened to him in so fast a time.

"I do flips all the time so I..."

"In _ninjutsu,_ and your damned skateboard!" Raph snapped, still angry. "You've had years of practise for those!"

Raph sighed, rubbing a hand down his face as he suddenly reigned in his temper. "Look, Kid, I've got no doubt you could pull it off after probably only a few days, but _start smaller_! Learn to fuckin' jump first and _wear_ a damn helmet!"

Mikey blushed and nodded furiously. "I promise I will next time, Raphie."

And Raph was so relieved he never even noticed the name.

-:-

Exiting the lab once he collected himself, the first thing Donnie noticed was how quiet everything seemed. The second thing he noticed was Leonardo, defying his medical orders and pacing, exuding a mixture of worry and anger.

"What are you doing?" Donnie demanded, his nightmares immediately forgotten. "I believe I told you to rest if you want your ankle to heal any time soon."

"Raph and Michelangelo aren't in the lair. What if..."

"What do you mean they're not in the lair?" Donnie interrupted him. "It's Raph's turn to watch him."

"Just what I said. I've looked everywhere, but they're definitely not here. I even called April and Casey to see if they've seen either of them, but they haven't," Leo explained anxiously.

"Well, with the fact that neither are here, at least that means it's likely they are together," Donnie pointed out, wanting to get Leo calmed down enough to sit again.

"And both know very well they aren't supposed to have left the lair, especially Michelangelo!" Leo scowled.

"You know what Raph's like," Donnie said tiredly. "You can't cage him for long and he's been cooped up far too often lately as it is. I wouldn't worry too much, Leo. I doubt they've gone far."

Leonardo turned and raised an eye ridge at the genius, noticing just how haggard he appeared.

"I gave Raph a couple of tranquilliser darts earlier when he asked for them in case they were needed. I guess he had flying the coop in mind at the time," Donnie continued, seeing he had Leo's undivided attention at last.

"And you didn't think to ask why he would need them?" Leo couldn't help but accuse.

"Of course not! I just figured it was a precaution since Raph doesn't want to have to hurt Michelangelo again if it comes down to it," Donnie retorted, for once not bothering to hide his exasperation. "Now, please sit down and put that leg up, _before_ you exacerbate your _still healing _injuries further."

Leonardo gave Donatello a reproachful look, but did as he was bade. "Can you track Raph's Shell-cell?"

"Did you try calling him first?" Donnie asked flatly. The last thing he wanted was to invade his brother's privacy again without good reason.

"Of course, and typically there was no answer when I tried."

"I understand that you're worried, Leo, but they are both trained ninja, and more than capable ones at that," Donnie reminded him, coming over to sit in a nearby chair and keep Leonardo company.

"I know that," Leo admitted softly. "I'm just concerned in case Michelangelo..."

The door abruptly opened and they looked up to see the two turtles in question entering the lair.

-:-

"Let's not tell them exactly what happened," Raph suddenly spoke up, breaking the tension as he and Mikey walked home. "But you're still gonna have to get Don to check you over."

"Do I have to?" Mikey whined, wincing at the thought. It seemed like all he was doing since coming to this reality was causing problems for everyone, especially Donnie, and he was sick of it.

"Yeah," Raph replied. "You were knocked out for a few seconds, and if Don finds out you _didn't_ go to him, he'll be pretty pissed."

"But I wasn't..." Mikey tried to protest, only for Raph to keep speaking, either not noticing or caring that Mikey had something to say.

"And trust me, while Don's pretty mild most of the time, you do _not_ wanna get on his wrong side."

Mikey shrugged. "I'm used to a Donnie who snaps and nerd rages easily anyway. It's no big deal."

Raph gave Mikey a side on look, before leading them around the bend in the tunnel.

"Raph?" Mikey ventured, quickening his pace to keep from being left behind. When Raph glanced at him questioningly, Mikey continued, "You guys didn't tell me about last night. Did you find him?"

"Hun?" Raph grunted questioningly.

"Yeah," Mikey nodded. "What happened?"

"Not much," Raph muttered in disgust. "He was long gone, but he left a trap for us. Lured Don in with the promise of information, then while we were caught up tryin' to get it, had the place blown up."

Mikey stopped in shock and stared at Raph in worry. "Were any of you hurt?" he asked in a small voice.

Raph barked a laugh. "Did we look it today?"

Mikey shook his head slowly.

"Nuh, we had Leo playin' lookout. He warned us and we got out just in time. Little singed, but nothin' a hot shower didn't fix."

Mikey's eyes closed in relief. "That's good. I don't want you and your bros getting hurt again because of me."

"Not your call to make," Raph said, shooting Mikey a sharp look. "Besides, that bastard needs takin' down once and for all."

"When are you guys going after him again?"

Raph scowled. "Dunno. Probably not until after Leo's healed. Don's gonna start tryin' to track him by hackin' into the city's CCTV. Hopefully we'll find him before he does anythin' big."

"Sooo..." Mikey began thoughtfully, "if you guys are waiting for Leo to heal, that means I'll be clear too."

"So?"

"So I'm coming too," Mikey declared in a determined tone.

"No you ain't!" Raph laughed and began walking away again.

Mikey bristled at the abrupt dismissal. He'd been training all his life too, just like them. It's just his life hadn't been as long as theirs yet. "This is my fight too, Raph!" he insisted. "After what he did... after what he _made_ me do, I _need_ to be there!"

"You can't take him, Kid," Raph sighed, wishing he wasn't having this conversation. It was why none of them had mentioned it earlier in the day. "Look at how easily he dosed you up the _second_ time."

"That's not fair, Raph!" Mikey cried. "You weren't there! You don't know what happened!"

Raph stopped walking once more and faced the distraught other-dimensional turtle, "No, but Casey was and he saw enough to give us an idea."

"No one could have avoided that..." Mikey said miserably. "I doubt even Sensei could have."

"Uh huh."

"I was chained up, dude!" Mikey retorted. "I had no where to _go_, no way to escape him!"

"That chain was pretty loose around the pole," Raph pointed out. "You had plenty'a room to move."

It wasn't often Mikey let his anger surface, especially in the presence of a friend or family, but right then, he couldn't help but allow it to flood into him. "You seen the _muscles_ on that creep?" he asked hotly. "And all he had to do was grab _hold_ of that chain and _haul_ me in like a helpless fish on a _line! _Did you even think about _that, _Raph?" Mikey spat furiously.

"... No, I didn't," Raph admitted, seeing the hurt making the younger turtle shake as he spoke.

Mikey gave a sudden nod, and just like that, his anger was spent. "So like I said, I'm coming too!" He began walking again, seeing the lair's hidden entrance come into view.

"We'll see," Raph acknowledged, following. "Either way, that's something for Leo to decide when the time comes."

"If he doesn't let me come, I'll just go on my own anyway," Mikey retorted obstinately.

"Somehow, I believe it, Kid," Raph said dryly. He shifted the loose brick hiding the control panel and keyed in the code for the door, then the two stepped inside.

"Where the shell have you two been?" Leo demanded, his voice full of barely restrained anger as he stood and strode towards them as best his crutches would allow.

-:-

to be continued

* * *

* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.


	27. Chapter 26

Rating: Overall story rated T for language, Raph will be Raph after all.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Warnings: Overall story, little bit of foul language and mentions of past character death. Unbetaed.

Comments, thoughts and concrit is always welcome.

A/N: I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! Where I am, it is now officially 2017!

Thank you for all the support through 2016.

* * *

**And One to Grow On**

Ch 26

Date : 12th Sept

Raph shifted the loose brick hiding the control panel and keyed in the code for the door, then they both stepped inside.

"Where the shell have you two been?" Leo demanded, his voice full of barely restrained anger as he stood and rushed towards them as best his crutches and injuries would allow.

"Hello to you too, Fearless," Raph replied almost nonchalantly. However, Mikey could hear the slight edge to his voice, warning Leo not to push him.

"We just went out to chill for a bit, Leo," Mikey quickly spoke up, trying to diffuse the tension in the room. "We stayed in the sewers and Spli..."

Raph's voice suddenly boomed over his own, drowning out his explanation. "Hey, Don! Could you check the brat over?"

Immediately worried, Donnie quickly strode over, concern filling his features. "Of course. What happened?"

"Hit his head an' was knocked out for a bit when he fell off your bike."

Mikey shot Raph a reproachful look, "I thought you said..."

"Later!" Raph hushed him, pushing him towards Donnie. "Go with Don."

Donnie quickly took hold of Mikey's arm, steering him towards the infirmary. Half turned as he allowed himself to be led, Mikey watched Leo and Raph, worry obvious in his eyes. He was certain they were about to go for each other with how they were eyeing each other off. Sure enough, as soon as he was ushered into the medical area, the voices outside immediately raised. However, as soon as Donnie closed the door, the sound was mostly cut off.

"How are you feeling, Michelangelo?" Donnie asked, leading him over to sit on the examination bed. "Any headaches, nausea or double vision?"

"Dude, like I told Raph, I'm _fine_," Mikey immediately protested, wishing he was still outside the infirmary so he could try to stop Leo and Raph from fighting. "Raphie's just making moles out of mountains. I wasn't even unconscious, just stunned and I didn't want to move at first."

Donnie nodded, taking a small penlight and shining it into the younger turtle's eyes. "If that's truly the case, then you won't mind humouring me by answering my questions."

Mikey sighed. While he generally loved having a fuss made over him, he never enjoyed it when it was for this kind of reason. "I don't have a headache dude, but my head does hurt a bit where I hit it," he admitted.

Donnie nodded in satisfaction, seemingly pleased by his reactions to the check up. "So what were you doing leaving the lair when you know quite well you shouldn't have?" he asked, pulling Michelangelo forward to check the lump on the back of his head.

Mikey coloured brightly. "I wasn't alone at any time except when I went to the bathroom before leaving. Raph was close by the whole time! Besides, Donnie, Sensei knew we were going."

"He did?" Donnie asked in surprise, releasing his grip on the other dimensional turtle's head to look him in the eyes.

"Yeah!" Mikey winced slightly as he nodded emphatically. "Raph talked to him about it while I was asleep on the floor."

Donnie sighed loudly. "And typically he didn't clue Leo in or leave a note... Sometimes, I really have to wonder about Raph. I swear, there are times I think he just enjoys seeing Leo aggravated."

"Nuh," Raph chuckled almost cheerfully as he suddenly came up from behind, causing both Mikey and Donnie to jump. "I just don't like bein' given the third degree. If Leo asked without prejudgin' or assumin' the worst, I'd be a lot more open to tellin' him crap in the first place."

Donnie looked up at Raph, "Well, I'm surprised Leo's left you alone so soon," he said dryly. "He was extremely agitated before the two of you returned home."

Raph laughed raucously. "Master Splinter showed up and told him. Seems our argument drew him out."

Donnie shook his head in disbelief over Raph allowing things to go so far.

"So how's the brat?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

Mikey beamed up at Raph from where he still sat. "Told you I was fine bruh, but you wouldn't listen to me."

"Raph was quite right to ask me to make sure, though," Donnie reprimanded, before turning back to Raph. "While I don't mind that you took my bike, it would have been nice to be asked first."

"Didn't wanna wake you," Raph shrugged, frowning as he leant back against the wall with his arms crossed. "You've been sleepin' too little lately as is."

"Think I would have preferred being woken," Donnie muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Raph asked as Mikey looked from one to the other and back again.

"Nothing," Donnie shook his head, dismissing the thought. He then turned to Mikey before Raph could press the subject. "So how _did_ you manage to fall off my bike so badly as to almost knock yourself out anyway?"

"Uh..." Mikey flicked a desperate gaze Raph's way. Last thing he wanted was yet another lecture. The one he'd had from Raph before coming back was bad enough.

"He was learnin'," Raph interjected. When Donnie turned inquisitive eyes on Raph, he added. "It was the brat's first time on a bike."

"Oh, I see," Donnie blinked. "So how badly damaged _is_ my bike?"

"What makes you think it's damaged?" Raph asked, bristling slightly as Mikey fidgeted.

"Well, Michelangelo hit his head hard enough to cause you concern, and you obviously didn't bring it back home with you, or you would have come from the garage."

"Raph made me leave it at the Bowl," Mikey offered in a small voice.

"You went to the Bowl?"

Both turtles nodded.

"Wanted to get him back asap, and figured it was safe enough leavin' our gear there," Raph shrugged.

Suddenly Mikey's stomach rumbled loudly. "Uh... I guess I should go make dinner?" he offered when the other two turned to look at him.

"Don't worry about it tonight," Donnie replied. "Raph can go pick up take out."

"Why me?" Raph frowned.

"Leo can't and while Michelangelo appears to be alright, I'd still rather keep an eye on him for the next few hours to be on the safe side," Donnie explained. "Besides, you left without leaving a note or informing either Leo or myself, so it's only right that you go out and get it."

"Or you could just keep an eye on me in the kitchen?" Mikey piped up hopefully.

Donnie sat down in his chair and regarded Michelangelo thoughtfully. "Tell me something, Michelangelo. Why aren't you carrying your still perfectly functional weapon around?"

Mikey bit his lip, distressed over the reminder when, thanks to Raph, he'd been able to put the last few days out of his mind for a while. "Just in case there's another time release dose in me and I end up attacking you guys again," he muttered sullenly. "I know anything can be a weapon but...

"And what of the knives in the kitchen? The pans? Anything else you might use to cook with?"

Mikey's gaze dropped to the floor; he hadn't thought of any of that. If he had, he wouldn't have cooked breakfast that morning. He opened his mouth to comment, but Donnie continued before he could.

"My point exactly," he said. Then his expression softened. "Honestly, I don't believe it will happen again; Hun really doesn't have that much foresight _or_ expertise on his payroll. However, you understand that we can't afford to take the risk on the off chance I am wrong again, right?"

Mikey nodded miserably, still looking down at the floor.

"So Raph will pick up take out for us tonight."

"What do you want me to get?" Raph asked, annoyance and resignation obvious in his demeanour.

"Anything but pizza," Donnie replied wryly. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm completely pizzaed out."

-:-

The next couple of days passed without incident. Raph and Mikey returned to the Bowl each day to escape the uptight stress in the lair, though when they went back it was with a helmet for Mikey in hand.

Finally, on the third morning, Donnie pronounced he was one hundred percent certain Michelangelo was clear and that the potential danger was over. Then he presented him with his previously broken weapon, now repaired.

After practise and thoroughly testing his weapon out in both forms, nunchaku and kusarigama, Mikey excused himself from the lair to go pay a visit to April and Casey. Though he'd been assured Casey was fine, he still wanted to check for himself and apologise for what happened in person. A few hours later, Raph followed with the intent of going hunting with Casey that night. As the two prepared to leave April's, Raph noticed the hangdog expression on Mikey's face and groaning, said he could join them as long as he did as he was told.

-:-

Sometime after Raphael left to meet up with Casey, or rather, to 'bust heads' with Casey, as Splinter well knew, the mutant rat knocked on the laboratory door.

"Come in!" Donatello's voice called from within. Splinter opened the door and entered his genius son's 'Sanctum Sanctorum', as his own Michelangelo used to call it.

"Are you busy, Donatello?" Splinter queried from just inside the open doorway.

"Always," Donatello smiled tiredly. "I'm still stuck on trying to work out just where I've seen readings similar to the ones I found at the site where Michelangelo first entered this dimension. From what I understand, all dimensional signatures have a unique signature, based on where the two sides originate from. I could swear I've seen this pattern before, but I have no record of it," he explained, frustration clear in his voice.

"Neither does it help that the readings I took that night were so badly degraded by the time I was able to take them, or that my equipment isn't really designed for such things."

"Sometimes, the best way to deal with a problem like that is to put it aside and focus on something else for a while," Splinter suggested, coming closer and sitting down in the spare chair nearby.

"Like trying to find some trace of Hun instead?" Donnie chuckled wryly. "That one's the problem I'm taking a break from, now that I have the facial recognition software running and monitoring my hacked CCTV feeds."

"In that case, I almost hate to bring yet another possible problem to your attention, my son," Splinter apologised. "However, I feel I must."

"Me? Not Leo?" Donnie asked in surprise, turning his head to give Splinter his full attention.

"It is the type of problem that requires your expertise, not Leonardo's."

Donatello immediately let go of his hold on the mouse and swivelled his chair around to face his father. "In that case, what can I help you with, Master Splinter?"

Splinter inclined his head briefly and clasped his hands in his lap. "It is about Michelangelo."

Donnie straightened in sudden alarm, fearing the worst. "Oh no... Has something happened?"

Chuckling lightly, Splinter shook his head, reassuring Donatello. "No, not that I am aware of, my son. Do not fret."

"Then what...?"

"The other night, while you, Leonardo and Raphael were attempting to hunt down Hun, Michelangelo and I had a rather enlightening conversation in which we both learned much about one another," Splinter explained, maintaining eye contact with Donatello.

"I believe I heard something ridiculous about you somehow being his brother?" Donnie fished, perplexed.

"It seems in his world that his father is Hamato Yoshi," Splinter elucidated. "However, that is not what I wish to talk to you about. He mentioned the possibility of his having something called ADHD and how that could be affecting his ability to keep focused."

Donnie straightened, his face becoming thoughtful. "That could explain a lot!" he exclaimed, then paused when what Splinter said hit him. "Wait, you said possibly? Meaning not confirmed?"

Splinter nodded. "Apparently the idea came up a few years ago and they did not have the resources to confirm it or do anything about it. I wish to know more about this condition and if there is anything we can do to help if he does indeed have it. Is it possible for you to find out for certain?"

"Yes, of course, Master Splinter," Donnie immediately answered. He whirled back to face his computer and opened a new page on his web browser. "I'd have to research a lot more into it first though as I only really know the basics, but I believe there are numerous treatments. Some involve medication and others involve other techniques, for example, regular meditation." Donnie suddenly stopped as a thought occurred to him.

"Before arriving in our dimension, Michelangelo didn't meditate as frequently as you make us do, right?"

"I believe that is so," Splinter confirmed with a nod.

"Then that could help to explain why there is such a large difference between him and Mikey, assuming of course that they both have... had... ADHD," Donnie exclaimed.

"After I do some research, I'd have to test Michelangelo, assuming he allows it, and then work out the best treatment. Obtaining the medication could prove to be problematic however, and then I'd have to make sure it's compatible with his mutated DNA, but from what little I do know about it, I'm not certain that would be the best choice anyway," Donnie mused as his fingers continued to fly across his keyboard, all while simultaneously reading what came up on the screen.

Splinter canted his head curiously. "Please explain."

Donnie paused in his movement to do so. "There are numerous side effects, both physical and mental. Not everyone is affected by them of course, and it could help him to focus more easily. However, there is the chance it could also alter his moods, perhaps even depressing him or stifling his creativity. The problem then with that, would be possible interference with his instincts and fighting style, and that would not be a good thing given our lifestyle which is often fraught with danger."

"Indeed. Then perhaps alternative treatments would be for the best."

Donnie nodded, starting to type once more. "And best of all, those alternative treatments would help irrespective of whether we confirm he has it or not."

-:-

With the midnight hour fast approaching, Raph, Casey and Mikey had dealt with five muggers, two bag snatchers and one random gang of youths attempting to beat up on an innocent couple, but had seen neither hide nor tattoo of any Purple Dragons.

Casey lifted his hockey mask to look down at his watch, noticing the time. "We should call it a night, Raph, it's nearly midnight."

"Seriously? You wussin' out already? We're just gettin' warmed up!" Raph exclaimed in disbelief. "You're usually up for more far later than this."

Casey grimaced at the accusation. "Yeah, well, I got work early tomorrow and since I missed a couple a days due to a 'sportin' injury', I can't afford to not be at my best or miss another day." He immediately turned to face a suddenly downcast Michelangelo. "An' if you say you're sorry again or pull that actin' guilty bullshit, I'll pound some sense inta you myself!"

Mikey grinned sheepishly up at the tall human, relieved to know he really didn't bear a grudge. He knew it wasn't his fault, yet he'd still be haunted by those memories for a long time to come.

"Fine," Raph grumbled. "We'll take ya back home first. Your place or you stayin' at April's again?"

"Nuh, my place. I don't have any work gear at Ape's," Casey replied. "Ya know, you don't have to see me home."

Raph shrugged, he simply wasn't ready to call it a night yet. "We know," he replied nonchalantly, "but if we don't see ya home in time, ya might just turn into a pumpkin right at your doorstep."

"Because he's Caserella and needs to be home from the party by midnight, right?" Mikey laughed, suddenly understanding what Raph was hinting at.

Raph and Casey exchanged uncomfortable looks. "Uh, yeah..."

The three friends then took off, bounding across the rooftops in the direction of Casey's home. About halfway there, Raph suddenly pulled Casey and Mikey to a halt, covering Mikey's mouth with a hand in an effort to keep him silent. Mikey pulled away and turned, preparing to loudly demand why Raph did that, but then he saw Raph hold his finger to his mouth in a shh gesture, warning glare firmly in place. Raph then gestured to the other two to duck.

Peeking over the nearby balustrade, Raph pointed out three figures on the next door roof.

"Nice hats!" Mikey exclaimed, taking in the figures. "Who are they?"

"Keep your damn voice down!" Raph hissed. "They're Foot Elite!"

"Ugh... great!" Casey muttered in disgust. "We got no chance against them."

"Speak for yourself, bonehead!" Raph retorted quietly. "I can take 'em!"

"All three at once?"

Raph was silent.

"Yeah! That's what I thought!" Casey snickered. "Hey, I thought the Foot hadn't been seen for a while, not since you guys stole that medallion thingie from them last year to save Don."

"Yeah, weird, isn't it," Raph replied mockingly. "Almost as if they were too scared to deal with us without their _precious_ mystics."

"What are you dudes talking about? What happened to Donnie?" Mikey asked in confusion, staring intently at the three shadowy figures on the neighbouring building.

"Explain later, Mikey," Raph murmured. "Stop starin' so intently, they'll notice. And yeah, those guys _are_ that good."

Mikey obediently averted his eyes, looking instead with his peripheral vision.

Raph licked his thumb and stuck it up in the air, taking note of the direction the wind was blowing from and began moving so the Elites were directly in the wind's path to him.

"Where you goin'?" Casey hissed. "What if they hear ya move?"

"Shut up and they _won't_ hear," Raph warned quietly. "I wanna hear what they're sayin'."

Casey groaned and rolled his eyes. "Great! Now the shell-for-brains is suicidal."

"Those dudes really that bad?" Mikey asked, trying to ignore the thrill of fear rising within. If both Raph and Casey were scared, then there had to be a reason for it, right?

"Those guys are the best of the best," Casey muttered back. "Need the full team to take on the likes of them, and I'm no ninja. Come on," he said, keeping low, yet following after Raph who had now stopped after apparently finding the sweet spot.

When they caught up to the other turtle, Casey asked, "So, what are they talkin' about?"

Raph growled in frustration. "Who the shell knows!" he spat. "They're speakin' in Japanese and I barely understand more than a word or two of the language!"

Mikey stared at Raph in open surprise. "Really, dude?"

Raph glanced at the turtle beside him in annoyance. "Why would I say it otherwise?"

"Wow!" Mikey laughed, immediately clapping his hands over his mouth as he suddenly remembered the need to keep his voice down. "That's so weird! How do you not know Japanese?" he continued a moment later, poking his head up and over the ledge, searching for a way to get closer.

"What the shell do ya think you're doin'?" Raph growled, trying to pull him back down.

"You wanna know what they're talking about, right?" Mikey asked, his blue eyes wide and full of innocence.

Raph nodded.

"Well, let me go listen."

"Knowin' a few random Japanese words in trainin's not gonna be much help here," Raph snorted derisively.

Mikey smiled serenely, sliding out of Raph's grip with an ease that surprised the hothead. "Well, good thing I know more than a few random words then, isn't it, Raphie?" Then he jumped over the ledge.

In a panic, Raph and Casey poked their heads over the edge, expecting to have seen Michelangelo land splat on the street far below. They breathed a sigh of relief seeing he wasn't.

"Uh... should he be doin' that?" Casey asked anxiously, watching Mikey run lightly across a cable stretching from one building to the other as if he were a tightrope artist in a circus. "I thought he was kinda a klutz."

"Less so than you, bonehead," Raph snickered, trying desperately to cover his worry. He was less worried about Mikey falling than the Elite discovering him. "Seriously, though, he's pretty decent when he actually focuses... The problem is keepin' him focused."

"Shit..." Casey muttered.

Then the two fell silent again as they anxiously watched Mikey scale the side of the building, stopping right below the top as if listening. A few minutes later, the Foot Elite vanished into thin air, and a pale Mikey slowly made his way back.

-:-

* * *

* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.


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